TUI members to be asked to identify themselves to get increments

The Department of Education is to ask members of the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI)in community colleges and community and comprehensive schools to identify themselves on a voluntary basis to receive increments and other benefits under the Haddington Road agreement.

The department on Wednesday issued a formal circular to schools to give effect to the Haddington Road agreement which was accepted by the TUI but rejected by members of the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI).

Members of both unions work side-by-side in around 150 of the 700-plus second level schools around the country.

The department is to apply the Haddington Road agreement to all teachers working in the education and training board sector (excluding designated community colleges) where the vast majority of staff are believed to be TUI members.

In the voluntary school sector, where the bulk of teachers are assumed to be in the ASTI, the department is to apply the terms of financial emergency legislation which in many ways is more draconian that the Haddington Road accord.

The difficulty for the department has to be differentiate between ASTI and TUI members in designated community colleges and community and comprehensive schools were both groups are employed.

For ASTI members the application of the financial emergency legislation will mean a freeze in increments for 3 years, no commitment to reverse pay cuts for those earning more than 65,000, no improvement in pay scales for younger teachers and no improvement in the length of time they must work before achieving permanency.

Members of the TUI who accepted Haddington Road will be paid increments, although some will be delayed, younger teachers will receive an improved salary scale, the length of time they must work before achieving permanency will be reduced from 4 to 3 years and pay cuts will be reversed in phases in the years ahead.

However TUI members will be required to carry out supervision and substitution duties on a compulsory and unpaid basis for 3 years.

Members of the ASTI are continuing to accumulate payment for carrying out supervision and substitution duties.

Senior education sources have calculated that even leaving aside supervision and substitution payments, ASTI members under the provisions of the financial emergency legislation will be considerably worse off, possibly by up to €25,000 over a six-year period than colleagues who accepted Haddington Road.

Education sources said the freezing of increments for 3 years could leave ASTI members around €4,000 behind colleagues who accepted the deal.

Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn said any unilateral move to end supervision and substitution payments for ASTI members would only take place after a collective Government decision.

The ASTI has warned that such a move could trigger a significant escalation in the current dispute with the Government.

Asked whether he agreed with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin who suggested the continuation of supervision and substitution payments for ASTI members who rejected Haddington Road was "unsustainable", Mr Quinn said it probably was "over time".

However he said:”We want to move forward it is not an issue at the immediate moment”.

Actual payments for supervision and substitution payments will not have to be made to ASTI members until next February or March.

TUI members in designated community colleges and community and comprehensive schools will be invited to fill in a consent form attached to the circular on the Department’s website. This would permit the use of data in the possession of education management on union affiliation for the purpose of determining the application of the Haddington Road agreement.

Mr Quinn said he would have to reflect and talk to cabinet colleagues on whether he would accept offers from individual teachers who were not members of trade unions to sign up to the terms of Haddington Road. He said such a move could create a precedent in relation to other sectors of the public service.

Mr Quinn said there had been no formal contacts with the ASTI since it began its campaign of industrial action last week over the Haddington Road deal.

The Minister said he hoped there would be no disruption to the provision of education service “and any talks around how that could be avoided would be helpful”.

However he stressed that “Haddington road is signed and sealed and not open for renegotiation”.