Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn has said he is hopeful progress can be made on phasing out pay differentials between teachers after cuts in entry salaries in recent years.

Speaking at the INTO’s annual conference in Kilkenny, Mr Quinn said he believed in a “fundamental principle of equal pay for equal work”.

However, he said because of the budgetary situation the Government inherited, lower rates of pay were introduced for new entrants to the profession in 2011, and other “adjustments” were made for new entrants in 2012.

This resulted in staff doing the same work being paid according to three separate pay scales: those relating to teachers employed before 2010, and those employed after 2011 and 2012 respectively.

Mr Quinn told some 750 delegates at the conference that the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform was talking to unions, including those representing civil and public servants, about the issue and he said he believed “progress can be made on that in the near future”.

Gradual move
Speaking to reporters afterwards, Mr Quinn said the aim was to reintegrate the 2010 and 2011 pay scales, a move that would reduce the number of pay scales for teachers to two. However, he said such a move would be gradual.

INTO general secretary Sheila Nunan told the conference that it was “an absolute sore to have colleagues working alongside other colleagues for different pay rates”.

She said if the Government wanted to do so, a new pay scale could be agreed “within a matter of weeks”.