Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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204. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans for equating newly qualified teachers since 2011 and those that entered the workforce prior to this date; if he will report on the discussions with the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland on the matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3008/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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As a consequence of the financial crisis, there was a need to enact a number of measures to reduce public expenditure so as to stabilise the country's public finances. These included pay reductions and also reductions to the pay of new entrant public servants, including teachers, since 2011. Collective agreements reached between the Government and the public service unions provided vital industrial peace during this very difficult period for the State.

The Lansdowne Road Agreement has allowed a programme of restoration to start. I have used this to negotiate substantial improvements in pay for new teachers. The agreement reached with TUI and INTO will see pay rises of between 15-22% (between €4600 and €6700) for new entrant teachers.

I accept that ASTI members have outstanding pay demands and that this deal does not travel the full distance that they set out to achieve.  However, it does represent significant progress, and the door is not closed to the trade union movement seeking to advance the issue further in the context of future public service pay talks.

In education, there is a well-established increment system. Teachers are not paid equally. For example, the pay scale for teachers appointed prior to 2011 ranges from €32,009 to €60,155 depending on the date that the individual began teaching. Part of the negotiation to date has secured a convergence of the scales of recruits at different periods. Any further negotiation on new entrant pay cannot focus on just one sector. A broader assessment of pay and new entrant pay will be informed by the analysis of the Public Service Pay Commission.

Following discussions, the Teachers Conciliation Council published a set of proposals in November for consideration by ASTI members aimed at finding a resolution to their dispute. The ASTI Central Executive Committee took a decision to put the outcome of the talks process to a ballot of members with a recommendation to reject. This ballot is now underway. The ASTI’s leadership have taken a view on the proposals.  It is now over to the members to form their view.

The proposals provide ASTI members with an opportunity to benefit from the programme of pay restoration I mentioned above, including the agreement reached with TUI and INTO, which will see pay rises of between 15-22% (between €4600 and €6700) for new entrant teachers.

In addition, there are other immediate undoubted benefits for individual ASTI members in accepting the proposals including:

- Avoiding an increment freeze

- Inclusion of the S&S allowance of €1,592 into the pay scale

- Continued alleviation of the FEMPI Act pay reductions

- The Ward Report measures and a revised sequence for filling posts which enable fixed-term and part-time teachers to gain permanent, full-time jobs more easily and quickly than before

- An increase in the quantum of the Croke Park hours that can be worked on other than a whole-school basis

- A review of the usage of the Croke Park hours

- Protection against compulsory redundancy

Also, the Government recently moved to address an anomaly issue arising in the context of the recent Labour Court Recommendations in respect of the Garda Associations through an increase in annualised salaries of €1,000 for the period 1 April 2017 to August 2017 inclusive for public servants on annualised salaries up to €65,000 who are parties to the Lansdowne Road Agreement and who do not stand to benefit from those Labour Court Recommendations.

ASTI members will have to weigh these benefits up for themselves. These benefits are only available to ASTI members if they vote to accept. ASTI’s membership now have a decision to make as to whether to accept the TCC proposals and the immediate benefits on offer or to engage again in industrial action. It is for the ASTI leadership to explain its strategy in respect of the latter approach.

ASTI’s ballot will take place shortly. While that process is ongoing it would not be helpful for me to comment further.