Secondary teachers have voted to defy a recommendation from the ASTI leadership by accepting the offer of €38 per hour for supervision.
ASTI members voted by a margin of 59 per cent to 41 per cent to endorse the deal. The leadership had advised members to reject the offer. The turnout was 54 per cent.
The vote represents a significant political victory for the Minister for Education, Mr Dempsey, who addressed teachers at several public meetings on the supervision issue in the past month.
After three years of disruption in the schools, the supervision vote is expected to herald a new period of industrial peace. ASTI members may also endorse the new pay deal and 13 per cent benchmarking award in another ballot next month.
Under pressure from its grassroots, the union is also to consider reform of its voting procedures.
The result of yesterday's ballot means that the temporary supervisors - in place since ASTI withdrew from the work over one year ago - will be replaced by teachers who opt to perform the work, probably from next September.
The pensionable scheme is worth about €1,400 a year to teachers. Those who opt into the scheme will also receive back money of about €1,000. The other teaching unions, the INTO and the TUI, have already endorsed the deal.
Commenting on the result, the ASTI president, Mr P.J. Sheehy, said: "The Minister should make arrangements for the immediate implementation of the scheme in schools and must also to arrange for the payment of arrears due to ASTI members for supervision and substitution work carried out in the 2001-2002 school year."
The Joint Managerial Body (JMB), which represents the management of all voluntary secondary schools, welcomed the result. Its general secretary, Mr George O'Callaghan, said the JMB would enter into immediate discussions with the Department, ASTI and other relevant bodies to explore the time-frame for the smooth implementation of the scheme.
The National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals (NAPD) also welcomed the result. Its president, Mr Michael McCann, said the NAPD had been unwavering in its professional opinion that teachers were best qualified to carry out these duties. Last year ASTI members endorsed the supervision deal by a 63-37 margin. A new ballot was demanded by the leadership because of a dispute about "on-call" payments.