Bernadine O'Sullivan's supporters have scored a string of victories atthe conference, writes Seán Flynn, Education Editor
ASTI CONFERENCE: If you want to detect the mood in the ASTI consider the case of Michael Ward. For 26 years, Ward has been its treasurer as well as a full-time teacher. He is widely respected as a paternalistic and generous figure within the union. Last year alone he helped and advised over 500 members during weekdays, at weekends and in his own home.
Yesterday, Ward was ousted as treasurer. His offence - he was seen as being too close to the leadership. And this conference is in no mood to support the leadership.
In a highly charged speech, Ward - his voice quivering - explained how he had given a life-time of service to the union. It now remains for me, he said, to leave the top table after 26 years. He then dramatically collected his belongings and took his place in the main body of the hall, receiving a standing ovation as he walked down.
Ward has been replaced as treasurer by Patricia Wroe, a very capable and articulate figure. She is closely associated with what might be called the Bernadine O'Sullivan wing. Wroe's campaign literature includes 10 questions she would like answered . . . The first four relate to company car and related allowances enjoyed by head office staff. She asks about the tax implications of benefit-in-kind allowances enjoyed by some head office staff with company cars.
This may seem trivial to most people, indeed to most trade unionists. But at the ASTI conference, where the leadership is now perceived as the enemy, it finds a ready audience.
The conference has proved a stunning triumph for the Bernadine wing. It has scored a string of victories. The ban on negotiations over supervision remains in place.
Bernadine herself has been nominated as the ASTI candidate to the Seanad with access to a political fund thought to exceed £40,000. Pat Cahill, one of her closest supporters, has been elected as vice-president. Efforts supported by the leadership to have ballots in schools rather than in branches, allowing more people to participate, are likely to fail. And the result of today's vote on a motion calling for a return to ICTU is a foregone conclusion.
Charlie Lennon looked rueful yesterday as he delivered his keynote address. It concentrated on the important business of new education legislation which in normal times might preoccupy a gathering of almost 600 teachers.
There was no mention of the bitter internal rift within the union; no mention of the bitter personality clash between himself and Bernadine. The protests and the barracking which were expected to accompany his speech never materialised.
Charlie Lennon appears dismayed by the outcome of this conference. He had hoped his revelations about the workings of a dissident group would win the middle ground. Instead, it has stiffened the resolve of the Bernadine wing.
The question now is how this week's conference will play in staffrooms around the country. In the run-up to the conference there were clear signs of some grassroots unease about the hardline stance of the union. The ASTI received a dossier of protests from ordinary teachers and over 90 attended a protest meeting outside the branch network in Galway.
Charlie Lennon hopes the grassroots will be on his side. He hopes most ordinary teachers are appalled by the rough treatment meted out to Michael Woods and more especially to Kieran Mulvey, the former general secretary. On RTÉ yesterday, Mulvey said he was also appalled to see the current president, Catherine Fitzpatrick, being barracked by delegates. Presumably, many ordinary teachers would share this view.
But even if such anger exists it is difficult for the ordinary teacher to find a vehicle to express it. In his Irish Times interview this week, Charlie Lennon spoke of one day receiving divergent signals from branches and schools in one region. The leadership would like to reform the structures to ensure greater participation by members. But such moves will almost certainly be voted down.
The next key development will be the release on June 30th of the benchmarking pay review. The INTO and the TUI co-operated with the process but the ASTI has remained outside. Both sides in the ASTI have a great deal riding on the outcome of benchmarking. If it delivers a hefty increase, Charlie Lennon can say the war of attrition was in vain. If it does not, Bernadine and her colleagues can claim vindication.
The stakes are also enormous for the Government. If teachers are not satisfied with the outcome, it will undermine confidence in the entire partnership process. It will also give a fillip to those such as Bernadine who believe radical, uncompromising action is the only way to achieve progress.