The second level teachers union Asti has threatened to pullout of the Croke Park Agreement if any cuts are made to teachers’ allowances .
Asti general secretary Pat King told delegates in Cork that allowances granted for qualifications or posts of responsibility are part of teachers' pay and that any cuts would represent a breach of Croke Park and trigger a ballot of members on the Agreement.
"In response to the threat to teachers' allowances Standing Committee has made it perfectly clear that a cut to any part of serving teachers' pay is a breach of the Croke Park Agreement. If it happens the Central Executive Council (CEC) will be convened to decide on a ballot of members on continued participation in the Croke Park Agreement," he said.
He said that the threat of cuts had been made clear to the union by the Department of Education and Skills in February.
He also criticised the manner in which teachers' pay has been represented by government backbenchers, describing talk of teachers' allowances as perks or bonuses as "malicious nonsense".
"There is a great misunderstanding about teachers' pay amongst the general public. Teachers are paid an agreed rate for the job," he said.
However, he went on to defend Croke Park saying that "the agreement is our best current protection against pay cuts and against redundancy for those to whom the agreement applies."
