THE two non primary teachers' unions have reacted angrily to an Irish National Teachers' Organisation announcement that it will vote for the Partnership 2000 agreement. This is in return for the Government sanctioning over 3,000 new promotional posts for primary teachers.
Senator Joe O'Toole, the union's general secretary, said in a statement yesterday that the Department of Education had agreed to the promotional scheme which was accepted last year by the primary teachers' union under the PCW.
Over 2,000 new posts will be approved immediately and another 1,000 will become available next year. As a result, and for the first time, more than 50 per cent of all primary teachers will be in promotional posts.
Senator O'Toole said: "This move eliminates the iniquitous points for promotions system which, being based on the age of pupils, discriminated against and reduced the promotion prospects of primary teachers. This has been a thorn in the side of primary teachers for 26 years.
He said that because of the delayed implementation of a deal agreed by the INTO last March, the union had "lost confidence in the integrity of the negotiation process". This delay was caused largely by the rejection by the other two unions, the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland and the Teachers' Union of Ireland - representing half the teachers concerned of the arrangements for implementing the PCW, and the resulting requirement to renegotiate.
Senator O'Toole said because of the delay in bringing in the promotional posts as agreed by the INTO. Its executive had decided to vote against Partnership 2000 and not to put it out to a ballot of the INTO membership on the grounds that it would be ridiculous to ballot on a new agreement when the outstanding aspects of the old one had still not been put in place."
He said yesterday's Government decision to go ahead with the promotions "restores confidence in the process, and consequently on the basis of these developments the INTO will be casting its votes in favour of Partnership 2009 at Thursday's ICTU conference.
He emphasised the huge impact of the new posts on primary teachers career prospects. "It means that every three teacher school will have two promoted people and every four teacher school will have three promoted people in principal's, vice principal's and special duties posts."
There were angry responses from both the ASTI and the TUI to the move. In a joint statement the two unions said the posts of responsibility proposals negotiated under the PCW had not been accepted by their members. It was "extraordinary" that the Government had moved to implement them partially without consulting their unions.
The Government's decision to implement them for INTO members had been taken for "reasons of short term political expediency because of the imminent ICTU vote on Partnership 2000.
Mr Charlie Lennon, the ASTI general secretary, said it would have serious implications" for the future of the joint negotiating machinery used by the three unions.
The TUI general secretary, Mr Jim Dorney, called it "a unilateral breach of the conciliation and arbitration scheme by the Government" and "an affront to the teachers who have always sought to conduct their business in accordance with the terms of that scheme."