Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for coming before the House to deal with this matter. As he is aware, the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland, ASTI, voted to reject the Haddington Road agreement. The ASTI is the only trade union to reject the agreement. The Government has unanimously stated that the Haddington Road agreement will not be changed to accommodate the ASTI. This may be so, but the Government cannot ignore the sentiment behind the ballot and the concern to which it is giving rise. Pupils, particularly those who are due to sit State exams this year, and parents do not need the stress of facing up to the threat of industrial action. Their concerns cannot be ignored.

The ASTI represents 17,000 secondary school teachers who voted - by 63% to 37% - to reject the agreement. In a simultaneous ballot, members of the ASTI voted by 65% to 35% in favour of industrial action - up to and including strike action - in response to what they term the Government's decision to breach the Croke Park agreement and impose the draconian financial emergency measures in the public interest, FEMPI, legislation. Yesterday, the ASTI announced that a programme of industrial action in second level schools will begin on Wednesday, 2 October. Some 17,000 ASTI members will withdraw from duties outside of normal school hours, including school planning and policy meetings, staff and parent teacher meetings and in-service training. They are also being directed to withdraw their co-operation from work on the new junior cycle framework and not to undertake any duties arising from vacated middle management duties unless they are pensionably remunerated.

We believe that the Government's original Croke Park II agreement lacked fairness and the proposals it contained would have had a particularly heavy impact on front-line workers, women and family life. The revised proposals in the Haddington Road agreement offer some improvement, but we continue to have concerns. We object to plans to guillotine debate on the relevant legislation next week before all unions have had an opportunity to ballot their members on the proposals being put to them. The intention is to push the legislation to which I refer through the Oireachtas over three days next week despite the serious nature of what is under consideration. The Government has effectively brought an end to the prospect of an overall public sector pay deal by conducting a series of bilateral negotiations, some of which favoured certain unions over others. No agreement was reached with ICTU in respect of the Haddington Road deal, and that could have implications for industrial relations in the future.

In the context of its approach to this matter, the Government seems, understandably, to have been very concerned about reducing public sector but to have been much less concerned with regard to improving the delivery of public services. There is scant mention in the new agreement of the users of public services. Speaking after a recent meeting, the general secretary of the ASTI, Pat King, said that while teachers were anxious not to disrupt their students' education, ASTI members had voted by a two to one majority in favour of industrial action. He also stated "The loss of classroom teachers from schools, the withdrawal of guidance services, the axing of middle management posts, the tying up of teachers’ time and energy with extra administrative work – these are the actions that have disrupted and damaged the education of our young people in recent years". Mr. King further stated "Despite the fact that vital resources have been stripped from schools, ASTI members signed up to and delivered more for less under the Croke Park Agreement only to find the Government reneging on its promises under the same Agreement".

The Minister should intervene and seek to have the industrial action deferred. At the very least, he should encourage the Labour Relations Commission to intervene and explore whether there are any matters which could be clarified in the context of the Haddington Road agreement.

It is not enough to say the Government is going ahead with the financial measures in the public interest legislation when the pupils of our secondary schools and their parents are facing a winter of industrial discontent.

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