ASTI urges teachers to reject deal over continued unequal pay for new entrants
The union has said that the proposal involves a “continuation of unequal pay for thousands of second-level teachers”. By Lauren Boland Saturday 9 Jan 2021, 4:07 PM Jan 9th 2021, 4:07 PM 23,478 Views 63 Comments
Image: Sasko Lazarov/Rollingnews.ie
Image: Sasko Lazarov/Rollingnews.ie
A UNION FOR secondary school teachers is urging members to vote against a public pay deal over concerns that it does not address lower pay for teachers recruited since 2011.
The executive council of the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) has announced that it will ballot members on the agreement, which the union will recommend that members reject.
The ASTI teaching union has directed its members not to comply with plans for Leaving Cert students to attend school for three days a week.
The union, which represents more than 17,500 teachers, said it was not consulted about the plan and had not received sufficient assurances that “schools are sufficiently safe” for students and teachers.
At an emergency meeting on Thursday, the ASTI standing committee decided to direct its members not to co-operate with the arrangements announced by the Minister for Education for in-school teaching.
Unfortunately, the assurances we sought have not been forthcoming.
ASTI President Ann Piggott
The union said it will engage in remote teaching and learning from Monday January 11.
Waterford, Ireland / WLR
Jan 7, 2021 8:49 AM
The harshest lockdown measures since last March were approved by the government on Wednesday, with significant restrictions likely to remain in place into this spring.
The new restrictions will see schools closed until February 1st.
However, plans to partially reopen schools for thousands of Leaving Cert students and special needs pupils were in doubt on Wednesday night due to growing opposition from teachers’ unions and principals’ representatives.
The groups are seeking urgent meetings with the Government over the public health basis for the decision, which they say risks jeopardising the safety of teachers and students.