A teacher awarded €35,000 for wrongful dismissal against a Cork school is considering legal action against the ASTI.
Ms Patricia O'Shea's relationship with an ASTI school steward during the union's pursuit of its pay claim in 2001 was at the centre of the dismissal claim. It is also understood the teacher is pursuing a civil action for personal injury against the school over stress and ill-health allegedly caused by the same events.
Ms O'Shea was awarded the compensation earlier this month by the Employment Appeals Tribunal. The claim originated in a dispute between Ms O'Shea and Mount Mercy College Cork concerning her treatment by the school management during the ASTI dispute with the Department of Education in 2001.
In March 2001, Ms O'Shea was on sick leave when she wrote a letter criticising the conduct of the pay claim, which was published in The Irish Times. The following Monday there was a meeting in the school, when the then school steward sought, and obtained, a vote of confidence.
Ms O'Shea asked the principal to arrange a meeting with the school steward. This meeting did not take place, and on March 27th she wrote to the principal seeking a meeting to discuss what she described as bullying and harassment in the workplace.
The atmosphere at the school became worse. On June 20th, 2001, Ms O'Shea resigned having got a post in another school. She claimed she was forced to resign because of the manner in which the respondent dealt or failed to deal with her complaints.