Monday, October 21, 2013
The effects of the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland industrial action will be felt by parents this week as meetings with staff at some schools force the cancellation of classes.
In addition, ASTI members are under union instructions not to attend the series of training sessions for the start-up next year of the revised junior cycle programme, which begin today for school principals. Education Minister Ruairi Quinn indicated on Friday he or his officials could talk to the 17,000-member union about education issues concerning them, but not about the Haddington Rd Agreement (HRA) which they voted to reject. However, the union’s standing committee did not decide to ease the industrial action in place at 500 second-level schools for almost three weeks. The cancelling of parent-teacher meetings or their scheduling in school hours from this week will see the biggest disruption to students and parents so far. The minister has repeatedly said ASTI members might rethink their vote against the HRA as the consequences for their pay become apparent. While ASTI members who continue doing supervision and substitution work are being paid for it for now, they are subject to a financial emergency law that means they will not get salary increases due to other teachers in 2016 and 2017 in return for now doing the work unpaid.