The chances of a second year of secondary schools closures increased today when members of the teachers' union, ASTI, rejected the Government’s pay offer for supervision.
A spokesperson for the union Ms Gemma Tuffey told
ireland.com
this evening that the ASTI Central Executive Committee (CEC) met on Saturday to discuss the Department of Education offer for supervision which would give teachers £27 per hour and an annual payment of £1,000.
ASTI was expected to put the offer on supervision to a ballot of members. But the (CEC) rejected the offer (76-70) and instead voted to ballot on a withdrawal from supervision and substitution duties.
Until now, teachers have not been paid for supervision and substitution duties which are performed on a "voluntary" basis.
Ms Tuffey said the offer was rejected for three reasons. She said the rate of pay offered was inadequate; the document outlining the offer was insufficiently clear as regards how the offer would work in practice, and the payments offered weren’t pensionable.
Ms Tuffey said the next step for the ASTI would now be to ballot members on withdrawel of voluntary services. The vote is due to take place on Tuesday October 9th and Wednesday 10th. A result is expected on October 13th.