Teacher unions must engage in dialogue

IT IS as much a part of Easter as roast lamb and chocolate eggs. In the week after the feast, our three main teacher unions gather in various venues to regroup and focus on the work challenges they face. The three unions involved are among the country’s most venerable. The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation from the primary sector; the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland from the traditional secondary schools; and the Teachers’ Union of Ireland who straddle the vocational, comprehensive and other secondary schools. These trade unions have origins back in the last century.

As well as looking after their members’ interests, the unions provided valuable input into educational developments. More than other years, there will be a strong common message emerging from all three conferences this year. This will be a strong demand for prompt pay restoration now the country has cleared recession.

Before this week ends, each of the unions’ leaderships will have a mandate to ballot members on industrial action – up to strike. The teachers’ message will be that the only way confrontation can be avoided is a cast-iron reassurance on pay restoration fixed on a tight timescale.

The pay scale changes driven by recession in 2010 have left a growing sense of grievance with the passing years. The number of newer teachers who are affected has grown.

But teachers are not the only ones affected in the public sector – and let’s never forget that many private sector workers who lost income are still experiencing that loss.

These realities mean teacher union activists should proceed cautiously and be prepared to engage in meaningful dialogue. Teachers will be the first to tell us that they must put their pupils first.