To the relief of parents and students, the Association of Secondary Teachers Annual Conference (ASTI) voted against a one-day strike in May which will alleviate fears of disruption to schools in the run-up to State Exams. However, the conference did vote in favour of withdrawing from unpaid classroom substitution duties from September which once again has the potential to cause disruption to schools.

The ASTI released the following statement following the Conference votes:

"The ASTI will engage in fresh attempts to ensure equal pay for equal work for recently qualified teachers is addressed in 2017.
 
These will include a protest to coincide with the commencement of the next round of pay talks and a fresh ballot on industrial action, up to and including strike action, if the issue is not resolved by September 2017.
 
Speaking at the ASTI annual conference in Killarney today, ASTI President Ed Byrne said the union is committed to continuing its campaign to achieve fairness and equity for recently qualified teachers.
 
He added that the the upcoming pay talks presented an opportunity to put to bed the issue of unequal pay for new entrants to the public service. However, in the event that the issue is not resolved, the ASTI will ballot its members.
 
The conference also decided that ASTI members will withdraw from unpaid substitution from the start of the next school year. This industrial action is in response to the worsening of the terms and conditions of ASTI members who voted to reject the Lansdowne Road Agreement in 2015."
 

 

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