The decision by the Department of Education to suspend payment of allowances to new teachers has drawn a furious response from the teacher unions.
The allowances- such as those for third level qualifications and for supervision/substitution- have been suspended pending a review of overall allowances across the public sector: This should be completed by the end of this month.
In total, about 52 per cent or over 30,000 teachers receive management allowances at an estimated cost of €236 million a year. A teacher with an Honours Higher Diploma gets an additional €1,200 per year, for example, while an Honours Masters Degree attracts an extra €5,500. An honour Higher Diploma in Education attracts an additional payment of about €1,200.
The INTO said the qualification allowances paid to teachers are an integral part of salary and pensions. The other payments are for additional work undertaken in schools that is necessary for the proper running of schools.
The union condemned the fact that this decision was announced without any consultation with the unions.
The union described the move as discriminatory against new teachers in particular who have already seen severe pay cuts. The starting salary of a new teacher was previously reduced by 14 per cent. According to the INTO, if this decision is not reversed new teachers would see starting salaries reduced further.
Its general secretary Sheila Nunan said primary teachers had delivered fully on the Croke Park agreement over the past year. "They have acted in good faith and have been treated unfairly by their employer."
The union said the decision not to pay allowances should be reversed.
The Teachers' Union of Ireland (TUI) condemned the decision as an outrageous betrayal of trust by the Government.
Speaking this evening, TUI General Secretary John MacGabhann said: "We unreservedly condemn this outrageous unilateral action which completely flies in the face of and shows contempt for agreed industrial relations procedures.
"This will have savage consequences for teachers, particularly those at the point of entry to the profession. The net result will see new teachers entering the profession earning up to 30 pe cent less than what they earned two years ago."
"What we are seeing here is the unremitting destruction of teaching as a profession. This will have enormous consequences in terms of who will be attracted to the profession."
"The bitter irony is that the Department of Education and the Teaching Council are looking to expand the training period for teachers to a minimum of six years following which the vast majority will struggle to secure any teaching hours on temporary contracts."
"In the context of the Croke Park Agreement that the union has in good faith engaged with, this is cynical betrayal of trust. The union demands the immediate reversal of this underhand decision which constitutes another direct attack on frontline services."
TUI General Secretary John MacGabhann said he unreservedly condemned the decision to suspend allowances describing it as "outrageous unilateral action which completely flies in the face of and shows contempt for agreed industrial relations procedures. ''
The Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland has also strongly criticised the decision.
Pat King , ASTI general secretary said the Department's move represented "yet another disgraceful attack on vulnerable young teachers who are already facing uncertainty in relation to their employment and whose pay scales have been decimated. ''
"The manner of this announcement - made without any consultation with the teacher unions who represent 60,000 teachers - demonstrates scant regard for the realities facing young teachers and defies normal consultation practices between the Department and unions which have been in existence for decades.
"We will now have the bizarre situation where young teachers who manage to find work in the coming weeks, will not know what wages they will receive."
