OPENING STATEMENT:
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 utmost 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 Irish 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 have decided to begin industrial action in schools with effect from 2nd October, 2013.
This industrial 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 have not accepted the Agreement – 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 impacts most on those who are best able to afford it.
The principle of making sure that the burden was shared by all sectors and that those on more pay would pay more, was paramount in the discussions which lead 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 my Department, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and teacher and various other unions, that took place against a backdrop of continuing significant difficulties in the finances of the State.
My colleague Minister 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 (INTO, TUI and IFUT).
I would ask ASTI to examine the costs to their 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 FEMPI 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 FEMPI legislation on their members.
In addition to the monetary impact on individual teachers, the Haddington Road Agreement also provides additional benefits for young teachers, particularly in relation to securing permanent status as teachers.
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 relation to security of tenure, are not available to their members.
This will be a matter of concern to many teachers and underlines the strong case for reconsideration by ASTI.
CONCLUDING STATEMENT:
I would again ask ASTI to examine the costs to their members of remaining outside the Haddington Road Agreement and to reflect further upon this matter, particularly given that the non-implementation of this Agreement will have the greatest impact on young, newly-qualified teachers.
It is also very much in the interests of the education system, and the country, that we are united in addressing the real financial challenges that we still face.
As Minister, I have an abiding respect for the valuable role played by teachers in sustaining the well-being of this country.
I sincerely hope that ASTI will again reflect carefully on its recent decision in that context.
ENDS