With a new round of school closures set to begin shortly, secondary teachers are also considering a withdrawal from all voluntary activities including sports, debates and musicals.
The executive of the Association of Secondary Teachers, Ireland (ASTI) meets on Saturday to finalise plans for the next phase of its campaign - due to begin with a fresh series of rolling one-day strikes from January 16th.
With ASTI members furious about the Government's decision to dock five days' pay shortly before Christmas, some executive members want to see a ban on all voluntary activities. Last night, Mr Charlie Lennon, general secretary of ASTI said members were furious at the pay deduction after they had withdrawn from voluntary activities such as supervision. "This may have implications for future involvement in other voluntary activities which teachers support in schools," he said. A ban on voluntary activities would see teachers withdraw from football and rugby coaching, organising debates, musicals, chess and other extracurricular activities. In the majority of cases teachers give their time voluntarily although some schools pay rugby coaches. In a minority of cases, teachers are paid expenses for petrol and other costs.
The ban on voluntary activities is being considered as a response to the Government's decision to dock teachers pay on December 21st. The deduction was made only days after ASTI and the Department of Education had agreed to the appointment of mediator Mr Tom Pomphrett of the Labour Relations Commission. ASTI has refused to co-operate with Mr Pomphrett until the deductions issue is resolved.