The leadership of the Irish National Teachers' Organisation today begins a fresh effort to gather support for the national pay deal. The attempt follows continuing indications that primary teachers might reject the pay deal contained in the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness.
In a tactical move, the INTO has signalled that it is ready to ballot for industrial action on the PPF if members reject the deal, even if the Irish Congress of Trade Unions endorses the deal at its special conference on March 23rd. The hope is that this will motivate members to come out and vote in the ballot now under way at branch level on the deal.
"Members need to be aware that there is no easy option. Should they reject the PPF, the only alternative is industrial action," said one INTO source.
There is concern in some INTO circles that the public would not support industrial action, in marked contrast to the nurses' dispute.
While strong opposition to the PPF is emerging, it is by no means clear if the entire membership is willing to support a long campaign of industrial action. Only 35 per cent of the INTO's 21,000 members have voted on the deal. It is possible that the PPF could be rejected even if only 20 per cent of the actual membership votes against it.
The indications suggest that INTO members are, for the first time in recent history, ready to defy the union leadership by rejecting the PPF. The union has still to secure support in any Dublin branch. Tonight's meeting of a large and influential branch in Dublin South County is regarded as critical. Scores of other branches in rural areas have still to vote and the outcome will not be officially known until early next week.
The INTO leadership believes that recent publicity about the merits of the deal has helped to sway the argument in its favour. However, this view will be tested at tonight's Dublin meeting. The leadership hopes support in rural areas will outweigh opposition in Dublin but this is uncertain.
The INTO is the only teaching union which has recommended acceptance of the deal. Its general secretary, Senator Joe O'Toole, who is a vice-president of ICTU, was a central figure in the negotiations which led to the PPF. He has described it as the best deal ever secured by teachers.
The PPF gives teachers a 19 per cent pay increase, a total of 1,500 extra teachers and a range of additional teaching supports. However, the Government has warned that these benefits will be lost if the PPF is rejected.
A secret ballot among members of the Teachers' Union of Ireland (TUI) is also under way but a result is not expected until late this week. The Association of Secondary Teachers, Ireland (ASTI), which withdrew from talks on the PPF, will tomorrow pursue its own 30 per cent pay claim in a meeting with Department of Education officials.