By any measure, the new national pay agreement would appear to be a good deal for teachers with a 18 per cent pay increase on offer over its 33-month duration. The leadership of the Teachers' Union of Ireland (TUI) estimates that the deal is worth a cumulative 29 per cent to its members - when combined with the tax changes in the Budget. For all that, the TUI leadership felt unable to recommend acceptance of the deal in the forthcoming ballot by its members. The executive of the Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO) is the only union leadership which has recommended acceptance to members in its ballot.
The most serious level of opposition has been among some members of the Association of Secondary Teachers', Ireland (ASTI) who - after leaving the national pay talks - lodged a pay claim of 30 per cent. This would represent an increase of about 10 per cent over and above the national pay deal. The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, has said that that no group could be dealt with outside the framework of the new deal.
In many ways, the Government has only itself to blame for the militancy evident in the ASTI. Its capitulation to the nurses and more especially to the Garda sent the worst possible signal to other workers. But the Government would be well advised to oppose the ASTI claim with the kind of steely determination which has not always been evident in other pay disputes. The Programme for Prosperity and Fairness represents the best means of rewarding workers within the kind of parameters which will protest our long-term economic future. Any departure from its terms - and the probable knock-on effect across the rest of the public sector - could seriously erode the competitiveness of this State.
The leadership of both the INTO and the TUI - and indeed some among the leadership of the ASTI - recognise this. But other more militant voices appear to hold sway, at this juncture, in the ASTI. The hope must be that common sense will prevail. Most fair-minded citizens recognise the great contribution that teachers have made to our economic well-being; most wish to see a teaching profession where morale and self-confidence are high; most recognise that many teachers, especially younger ones, are struggling to gain a foothold on the property ladder.
The good news for the teaching profession is that the benchmarking mechanism in the new pay deal - where public sector pay can be linked to that in the private sector - provides a mechanism through which some of these grievances can be aired. Many in the INTO and the TUI appreciate this. They also realise that the drive for increased accountability in the profession could yield benefits for teachers' pay. The ASTI - instead of launching a solo run against the new pay deal - might do well to listen to its counterparts in the other teaching unions.