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ASTI Strike Attack
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ASTI rejected the Labour Court report. The Taoiseach was amazed at the speed of this rejection and encouraged teachers to go back and seek clarification about its complex proposals.
One of the unions representing second level teachers is the Association of Secondary School Teachers of Ireland (ASTI). The General Secretary of this Union is Charlie Lennon (pictured right). National wage agreements were set up in 1987 as a means of avoiding industrial strife through strike action. The country was going through an economic crisis and it was important to have industrial peace and wage restraint so that the country could get back up on its feet.
Throughout this period teachers were ideal partners never stepping outside the terms of the pay agreements. Pay increases were awarded to groups all around them, many of them breaching the terms of the latest agreement, the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness (PPF). As a result of remaining within the PPF teachers saw their salary levels fall relative to similar graduates in the public and private sector.
Eventually ASTI decided enough was enough and withdrew from the PPF to negotiate their pay claim on their own terms. They looked for face to face talks with the government but this was refused.
The Labour Court is an independent body chaired by Finbarr Flood which aims to solve industrial disputes. They listened to the teacher's case for a pay increase, agreed that they had a sustainable case for a pay increase and told them to go back into the same partnership agreement (PPF) that allowed them to fall behind in order to pursue their claim.
The key aspect of the PPF that will supposedly satisfy the teacher's demands is something called Benchmarking. This is a mechanism where various groups analyse the work they do and attempt to match themselves against other groups in the public and private sector. Accounting firms like Deloitte and Touche are commissioned by these groups to compile professional reports for submission to the Benchmarking Body. This body is not due to report until June 2002. There are no people on this body from teaching backgrounds and yet they are meant to judge the type of work that teachers do.
ASTI rejected the Labour Court report. The Taoiseach was amazed at the speed of this rejection and encouraged teachers to go back and seek clarification about its complex proposals.
The leadership of ASTI returned to the Labour Court to get clarification on its report. Perhaps something within its pages had been overlooked. After a number of days seeking clarification it was obvious that nothing associated with their pay claim was on offer. They were offered a sum of money to finish the course and a few bob to help them buy computers. Teachers don't know whether to laugh or cry. Everyone accepts they are due a pay rise but they cannot get it.
