ASTI CONFERENCE - union politics: Noel Buckley, a respected figure within the secondary teachers' union has a range of criticisms, writes Seán Flynn.
In a move which reflects the continued turmoil in the ASTI, the union's national organiser, Mr Noel Buckley, has resigned.
Mr Buckley, a hugely respected figure across the union, said he was resigning because of the union's failure to move forward and its continued obsession with the fall-out from its troubled pay campaign.
"I am not interested in scoring political points, but unless we engage in serious reflection and look forward with a vision of where want to go we will end up in self-destruct mode," he said.
The union was replaying a tired old tape; it needed to rebuild and set goals for the teachers of the 21st century.
In a document circulated to delegates Mr Buckley said he did not think the union was capable of doing this at this time as the fall-out from what he called the "bruising campaign " of the last three years continued.
The union needed to step outside an internal debate with itself.
It needed to hire an independent person, outside the organisation, to chart a future course.
Some delegates were shocked to learn of Mr Buckley's resignation from his post after only a year in office.
A highly articulate and powerful speaker, he is a member of the union's strategy committee.
Mr Buckley was supportive of the 30 per cent campaign and supported moves to leave the ICTU and to oppose benchmarking. But, now that members have voted to support benchmarking, he believes that it is time for union members to step out of the trenches.
Mr Buckley, from Tipperary, is seen by some as a future leader of the organisation.
He is unusual in the ASTI in being respected and popular among all factions.
Last night he tabled a comprehensive dossier detailing the flaws in the union's organisation and structures and listed 11 reasons why the union was not working.
These included:
active members within the union divided into camps and engaged in a blame game
failure to have a unified vision and voice
criticism finding it hard to be heard in the organisation
the perception by members that some in head office do not actively pursue the implementation of decisions taken by the executive
members war-weary and blaming the union for a lack of leadership and at this moment unwilling to take a stand on issues.
Other criticisms include:
little competition for elected posts in the union
most executive or standing committee places uncontested and leadership positions at ASTI branch level difficult to fill
little space for free thinking on issues as most debates are tied to a motion or a question-and-answer format.
Mr Buckley says the ASTI branch structure needs to be reinvigorated. It is not unusual for 400-member branches to have a regular attendance of no more than 15 or 20.
He says the agenda of branches needs to be widened, and branches should be located in major urban centres.
He is also seeking a review of the role of ASTI president, the nature of the annual conference, and the operation of the union's 23-member standing committee and 180-member central executive council.