A bitter public dispute within the leadership of the main secondary teachers' union is threatening to damage its campaign of industrial action in pursuit of a 30 per cent pay increase.
The dispute surfaced publicly as the Association of Secondary Teachers, Ireland, set in train moves which are likely to see strike action in September.
In the internal dispute, staff at the union's head office in Dublin have begun a work-to-rule. The 23 staff, including the general secretary, Mr Charlie Lennon, claimed in a letter to the union president, Ms Bernadine O'Sullivan, they had been subjected to unfair personal attacks by elected members of the union.
The staff have refused to carry out any work other than what is strictly included in their contracts. They will decide next week whether to continue the action.
The ASTI is now riven by division between full-time officials led by Mr Lennon and the elected leadership led by Ms O'Sullivan. The two leaders also disagree about pay strategy, with Mr Lennon favouring a more conciliatory approach. The dispute has become increasingly personalised recently.
The ASTI's central executive, meanwhile, voted by three to one yesterday to reject the Partnership for Prosperity and Fairness (PPF) without balloting its 16,000 members, as it is entitled to do under union rules. The executive decided to set up a subcommittee to plan its strategy for industrial action. This could include one-day strikes and more serious action, including disruption of exams, if the Government refuses to yield.
Ms O'Sullivan said the campaign was strengthened by the decisions of the other two unions, the Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO) and the Teachers' Union of Ireland (TUI), to harden their stance on the national deal.
"It is highly significant that the INTO has called for an immediate meeting with the other two unions to begin talks with a view to launching a joint campaign to secure substantial improvements in the early settlers award," she said.
Mr Lennon disagreed with the ASTI decision to leave the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) and to withdraw from talks on the new pay deal, the PPF. Ms O'Sullivan said her job, as the elected officer, was to represent the views of union members. Ordinary teachers, she maintained, had lost patience with the partnership model and favoured a more direct approach.