Dáil debates

Tuesday, 24 September 2013

Topical Issue Debate

Haddington Road Agreement Issues

7:25 pm

Photo of Charlie McConalogueCharlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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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.

7:35 pm

Photo of Ruairi QuinnRuairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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It is important in any discussion of the Haddington Road agreement to remember the context within which this agreement came into being. This Government on coming to office inherited a financial situation of the most extreme gravity. Essentially, the country had lost its economic sovereignty, and as a Government we were obliged to look at all possible options for retrieving the situation, while at the same time maintaining, to the greatest extent possible, solidarity across all sectors of our community.

The State is still in a very serious financial and budgetary situation. We have to meet the very stringent public deficit targets placed on the Exchequer by the troika. Savings must be made in every area of public spending and a proportionate element of those savings must come from the public service pay and pensions bill.

I have said on many occasions that I have the greatest respect for the role and contribution of public servants in this country. I greatly value the role of teachers and appreciate the importance of their day-to-day work for the well-being of young people and, by extension, for the well-being of this country. ASTI members have voted in a ballot to reject the Haddington Road agreement and voted for industrial action up to and including strike action. ASTI has decided to begin that action next Wednesday, as the Deputy said. This action will see ASTI members withdraw from all meetings outside school hours, refuse to participate in training for the new junior cycle and not take on any management responsibilities without additional pay.

The Haddington Road agreement has been pursued as one final contribution from public servants towards securing our economic recovery. It has always been the preference of this Government to have a negotiated agreement on how to achieve the savings we require from the public pay bill. I am, therefore, extremely disappointed that the ASTI has not accepted the agreement. Need I remind the House that it is the only public service union to have taken that position?

The Government has sought to reach an agreement that allows substantial costs to be extracted and enhances public service productivity to the benefit of all those who rely on public services while also ensuring that savings are achieved in a way that is broadly equitable and that has the greatest impact on those who are best able to afford it. The principle of making sure the burden was shared by all sectors and that those on more pay would pay more was paramount in the discussions which led to the formulation of the agreement.

The Haddington Road agreement is public-service-wide in its application and follows from a protracted period of very intensive negotiations involving the Department of Education and Skills, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and teacher and various other unions, which took place against a backdrop of continuing significant difficulties in the finances of the State. My colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin, has made it clear in his comments on this matter that given this overall context, there can be no renegotiation of this agreement.

Teaching is a valued and important profession in Ireland and I am glad that agreement has been reached with three of the four trade unions representing teachers and lecturers in Ireland, namely, INTO, TUI and IFUT. I ask ASTI to examine the costs to its members of remaining outside the Haddington Road agreement and to reflect upon this matter again. The Haddington Road agreement is a negotiated way of reducing the impact of the financial emergency measures in the public interest legislation as far as possible across the public service. The impact to individual ASTI members of remaining outside the Haddington Road agreement will be the full impact of the financial emergency measures in the public interest legislation.

In addition to the monetary impact on individual teachers, the Haddington Road agreement also provides additional benefits for young teachers, particularly with regard to securing permanent status as teachers, a matter to which we referred earlier. All of this represents a major impact on ASTI members relative to other teachers. The decision by ASTI to remain outside the Haddington Road agreement and to withdraw from existing commitments means that the protections and benefits of the agreement, including those in regard to security of tenure, are not available to its members. This will be a matter of concern to many teachers and underlines the strong case for reconsideration by ASTI of the situation.

Photo of Charlie McConalogueCharlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister for his response. He indicated that ASTI members should reconsider and should take note of some of the benefits of the Haddington Road agreement, of which some will not now be able to avail. The reality is that ASTI has spoken and has made a decision in regard to the agreement and the Minister is faced with the reality that it has initiated industrial action. That will cause serious disruption in our schools from next week and will represent serious difficulties in regard to the Minister's plans for junior certification reform, due to the amount of in-service and preparation work that is needed.

Aerial communication between the Government and ASTI outlining their positions very loudly will not be good enough; they need to engage. Will the Minister consider engaging the Labour Relations Commission to consider whether there is scope within the Haddington Road agreement for further clarification which may allay some of the teachers' concerns in this regard? It is important that there be engagement. We cannot allow a situation to develop in which there is escalating industrial action in our schools as the school term progresses. Will the Minister consider ways in which he can engage that might allow for a resolution? We need to ensure we will not see the type of disruption that now looks likely to happen in our schools from next week.

Photo of Ruairi QuinnRuairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I would like to see a resolution to this disagreement. ASTI is on its own in this regard but its importance to the system is not without significance. The summer has passed. Three of the four teacher unions reflected and waited until their members were back at work, so to speak, to ballot them. We got the results of those ballots in the past couple of days, including that from IFUT. I am sure the consequences of their decision were uppermost in the minds of all of the people who voted. They must reflect on their position before any kind of communication can commence that will have the prospect of a successful outcome. I would like to be able to say something different to the Deputy as I know he is well-intentioned in what he suggests. The ballot came in last Friday evening and the standing committee of ASTI met yesterday. It took a decision that will take effect next Wednesday. We listened very carefully to what Mr. Pat King said. He felt it would not disrupt the delivery of front-line education services but we will have to see how that unfolds and how ASTI responds to the situation. I am open to any suggestions in regard to this matter, but this is a public-sector-wide agreement. It is not a dispute between the Minister for Education and Skills and one teacher union. It fits into a wider context and I must have respect for that context. However, I would like to see a satisfactory resolution to this issue as soon as possible.