The decision by secondary teachers to reject peace moves which could have opened the way for a resolution of their dispute, must be a matter of the gravest concern for parents and students, especially those facing Leaving Certificate exams. The Minister for Education, Dr Woods, reflected the public mood when he said he was "dismayed and disappointed" by the turn of events. A further set of one-day strikes is due to begin next week; the ban on exam work takes effect from February 3rd next. Dr Woods insists the exams will continue as normal, but this could be a difficult, if not impossible, task should the strike remain unresolved. The Association of Secondary Teachers, Ireland (ASTI) was foolish to reject the peace offer so carefully worked out by the Labour Relations Commission, the Department of Education and its general secretary, Mr Charlie Lennon. It promised a full refund of the pay withdrawn before Christmas if the peace process was successful. ASTI wants the money refunded with no strings attached. The Government's tactical error in docking about £350 from the average teacher, at a time when peace moves were in train, has now rebounded. Given the bitter split within the ASTI, this dispute required good diplomatic skills and political nous from the Government. Many in the Department of Education recognised this. But a Department of Finance agenda - in which ASTI was effectively to be punished for opting out of the PPF - was allowed to prevail.
Despite the Government's mishandling of the dispute, ASTI's position does not recognise reality. For months it has been seeking third-party intervention in its dispute. Now - and not for the first time - it has walked away from the negotiating table. While it may be an important matter of principle, the docking of pay is essentially a side-issue. If its key representatives had any sense of political reality or any coherent strategy, ASTI would be addressing the bigger issue: how best can it pursue its demand for a sizeable pay increase? The militant wing in the union hopes it can draw support from other teaching unions, notably the Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI). But there are few signs that the TUI is ready to abandon its support for the PPF. In common with the Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO), it expects to gain a pay increase of at least 20 per cent from the new benchmarking review body, established by the PPF. The ASTI could join this process now. The Government is very anxious to do a good deal for all the teaching unions. It is asking the ASTI to cut a deal inside the PPF, fearing that any breach could see the PPF crumble. This, no Government can countenance, if there were never to be a Leaving Certificate examination. For reasons which it has still to explain, the benchmarking process is good enough for the majorities within INTO and the TUI but not, apparently, for the ASTI. It is continuing on a course which is unsettling students and parents, damaging the high status of the teaching profession and, not least, damaging the union itself. To its great credit, the leadership of the union recognises this and is anxious for peace. The onus is now on the general membership of some 16,000 teachers to speak up - and to direct its union back to reality.