The national pay deal and the Budget tax changes will deliver a combined increase of over 29 per cent to teachers, according to the Minister for Education, Dr Woods. In an attempt to boost support for the deal among the profession, Dr Woods has also emphasised that the concept of performance-related pay does not form any part of the agreement or of his plans.
In a weekend statement, the Minister said that the pay agreement - when combined with a special payment for teachers who settled their pay dispute early in the last pay round - will deliver a pay increase of 19.23 per cent for all teachers over the 33 months of the agreement. "The taxation commitment contained in the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness will deliver a further 10 per cent improvement on average in take home pay of teachers up to 2003", he said.
Dr Woods also said that he wanted to put it "categorically on the record" that performance-related pay did not form any part of the new agreement. He insisted that the pay deal only obliged schools - not individual teachers - to develop school plans.
"The final phase of the proposed agreement is conditional on verification of progress on the ongoing modernisation of the public service. The proposal in relation to schools is that the present school development planning initiative will be developed in full consultation with the teaching profession. The development of school development plans will meet this requirement and will provide a practical, acceptable and realistic method of managing choice in schools, in collaboration with teachers and other partners, while at the same time taking into account all of the unique factors that come into play in the environment of any school".
Dr Woods's statement comes as two of the main teaching unions - the Irish National Teachers' Organisation and the Teachers' Union of Ireland - ballot their members on the new pay deal. In a surprising move last week, the Dublin north branch of the INTO - the largest branch in the State - voted against the deal. Other Dublin branches have also voiced their opposition, but there appears to be strong support for the deal in rural areas. The INTO leader ship, which has recommended acceptance of the deal, remains confident that it will be endorsed by the membership, even with a strong rural/urban divide.
A clear picture of how TUI members are responding to the deal has yet to emerge. The union is balloting without any recommendation to members. On Friday, however, the union leadership won an important victory when the High Court refused to grant an order directing the TUI executive to publish a new edition of an internal newsletter giving both sides of the pay deal. Two union members - Ms Mary Friel and Mr Eddie Conlon - had objected to an edition of TUI News with a headline which highlighted the potential benefits of the new pay deal. Mr Justice Lavan said that their application to the court had "made a mountain out of a molehill".
It is thought that the High Court ruling will give a significant boost in the ballot to those within the TUI leadership who support the proposed new deal.
For its part, the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland, which withdrew from the national pay talks, is demanding a 30 per cent pay rise. But the union faces some searching questions on its strategy if the other teaching unions support the deal.