Some hard lessons to be learnt in ASTI dispute

The Association of Secondary Teachers, Ireland, spent over £200,000 on a public relations campaign at the outset of its dispute in an attempt to soften up public opinion.

But since its campaign began in earnest in recent months, it has paid little heed to staying "on message" or cultivating its public image.

Public relations professionals have looked on in horror as the union has squandered opportunity after opportunity to enhance its stature with the public.

Popular gestures such as exempting examination students and special-needs students from their actions have been spurned.

Deeply unpopular actions, such as calling parents who might supervise examinations "scabs" and closing schools without actually striking, have been embraced with relish.

One example this week showed the scarcely believable lack of interest among teachers in how their case is seen from the outside.

A reporter asked one particularly fervent strike supporter based in the west: "Can you really resume a strike next week in the middle of a national crisis like foot-and-mouth?"

The reply said it all: "What has that got to do with us?"

This remarkable immersion in their own campaign is partly understandable because teachers have been on strike for five months.

Also at strategic moments taxi drivers, farmers and train drivers have upstaged them and teachers are anxious not to let the momentum drop. Withdrawing the two weapons - strikes and examination disruption - which could draw concessions from the Government would not be clever at this important moment, they argue.

Teachers also say that strikes never make you popular. But equally teachers in the other unions say that at least the damage should be limited. The ASTI has failed to do this for several reasons.

One is that despite the moderate presentation of their case by the general secretary, Mr Charlie Lennon, the ASTI has been unable to rein in its more hardline members who expressed opinions often contrary to the official line on the national airwaves.

On Thursday its leadership, fed up with unofficial voices hogging the media spotlight, imposed a media blackout. And with delicate talks about to start at the Labour Court, the union is hoping nothing upsets its strategy.

The reason the union has passed up handy chances to curry favour with important constituencies such as parents and other teachers' unions is that its 30 per cent claim has become a mantra.For the last five months the claim has been everything. The union has defended it to other unions, to the Government, to the media and even among a small group of internal sceptics who wanted more.

While the figure was plucked from the sky last year at a meeting in Dublin, since then it has taken on a moral hue with members careful not to question the basis or reality behind it.

That was before this weekend.

Now the Labour Court is again going to inspect the figure closely to see if it does stand up. More importantly the Labour Court, under its chairman, Mr Finbarr Flood, is going to see whether it really is sacrosanct.

His negotiations with four ASTI delegates are likely to hinge on the issue of supervision, a task that teachers undertake on a voluntary basis.

What will happen if teachers are offered a sum - say £2,000 - for doing this work? What happens if the sum is less than 30 per cent? What happens if it is only an allowance and not part of an overall teacher's salary?

The union has been criticised for not putting the Labour Court recommendation to a ballot and one assumes that to head this off there will be a ballot on the new set of proposals, even if they are a long way short of what the ASTI wants.

Then the "ordinary" teachers will have their say. But - like their leaders - after a bitter five-month dispute they may find this an uncomfortable dilemma for those who have been watching events from the picket line.

THIS dilemma arises in every industrial relations dispute and struggle - how much compromise can we bear without betraying our original principles?

Both sides in this dispute remain under serious pressure. The Government, reeling from the foot-and-mouth crisis, could find itself fighting on two fronts if the teachers' strike continues much longer.

There must be a great temptation to put the ASTI dispute to bed before the whole problem of examinations becomes a real nightmare. The ugly nature of some student protests yesterday shows that events could get out of control very soon.

The next few days will put a strain on those involved in negotiations.

The task of guarding the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness while also giving the teachers something their leaders can sell to their members will not be easy.

Even veteran industrial relations experts regard this dispute as one of the most difficult to resolve of recent years.

The Government says the PPF is an absolute; the ASTI says 30 per cent is the bottom line. Observers feel that beyond those stark positions there could be room for compromise. But it will not be easy.