There was an air of confidence among the hard liners in the Association of Secondary Teachers, Ireland yesterday as they savoured a hard-won victory over the Government.
For months, the hardliners in the union - grouped loosely around the former president, Bernadine O'Sullivan - have been under pressure. The expected groundswell of public support has not materialised. The union's strategy has been widely criticised in the media and in trade union circles.
Worst of all, efforts to forge an alliance with the leaders of the other teaching unions, the Irish National Teachers' Organisation and the Teachers' Union of Ireland, have come to nothing.
The Government's clumsy approach to the docking-of-pay issue, however, gave the hardliners a fresh lease of life. On December 21st the Government docked three work-to-rule days from teachers even though moves to resolve the dispute were already in train, led by Tom Pomphrett of the Labour Relations Commission.
The docking was a very blunt instrument. All ASTI members - even those who were sick or on maternity leave and principals and deputy principals, who worked normally, were docked about £350. Charlie Lennon, ASTI's general secretary, pleaded with the Government to hold off, fearing the docking would destabilise peace moves. His fears were justified.
The decision stirred a rebellion. The Government had dipped its hand into the pay packet of the average teacher just four days before Christmas. Two weeks ago a compromise formula worked out between Mr Pomphrett and the Government on the docking of pay raised the temperature further.
In the Pomphrett document, the Government said it would refund the money, but it reserved the right to make further such deductions in the future. Mr Lennon and other leaders of the union were prepared to accept this compromise and get back into talks. In their view, the union needed to look to the big picture: how best to advance its case for 30 per cent.
The executive and central executive committee took another view: the Government would have to backtrack and admit it was wrong. At a meeting in the Burlington Hotel, the union voted to reject the peace offer until the docked pay was refunded.
Bertie Ahern's offer in The Irish Times this week to refund the money "without prejudice" will be seen by many in the union as a victory for Ms O'Sullivan. For her supporters, it provides vindication of her tough, unyielding approach.
On RTE's Today With Pat Kenny yesterday Ms O'Sullivan said her union had in the past been too mannerly in its dealings with government. She has been the main catalyst for change.
Only two years ago the ASTI was regarded as one of the more conservative trade unions. Its long-time general secretary, Charlie Lennon, is widely admired for his negotiating skills. Lennon has been one of the prime movers behind the scenes who helped deliver social partnership. You will not find too many in Government with a bad word to say about him.
Bernadine O'Sullivan was not impressed by Mr Lennon's entree into the corridors of power. Although Irish teachers are among the best paid in the group of countries making up the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (the OECD), she - as an elected officer last year - told the grassroots that head office staff could and should deliver a better deal for members.
Her timing could hardly have been better. She tapped into a well of frustration and anger of the average 45-year-old teacher. As the economy boomed, their social and economic status has declined.
For the past year Ms O'Sullivan has driven the new radical agenda at the ASTI. The union walked away from talks on the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness and left the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. Schools were closed and exams threatened.
Ms O'Sullivan's demand for a 30 per cent pay increase was a clarion call for most ASTI members, a record number of whom supported the campaign of industrial action last year. Ms O'Sullivan has been responsible for a grassroots rebellion. In her own words, she is fighting a "crusade" for the good of teachers and the entire education system.
Buoyed up by its victory, the O'Sullivan camp was in good spirits yesterday. But it is important not to overstate this triumph. The refund of pay is no more than a side issue: the main challenge facing the union is how best to secure its 30 per cent pay demand.
What is on offer to the teachers is straightforward. The Government says the ASTI can, like the other teaching unions, pursue its case through the benchmarking body established by the PPF. This will compare teachers' pay to trends in the private sector and reward teachers for changes in work practices. The TUI hopes to gain at least 20 per cent from the process. The INTO is equally confident.
But the ASTI agenda is very different. O'Sullivan will have no truck with benchmarking, which, she says, could lead to British-style performance evaluation and a loss of the voluntary ethic. She is opposed to any involvement by the ASTI in the PPF.
The question is whether there is anywhere else to go.
As the Taoiseach spelt out in the most forthright terms in his Irish Times article, the Government is not prepared to tear up its entire public-pay policy to suit the ASTI.
Ms O'Sullivan has won a battle, but the core difficulty of the ASTI campaign remains; it has chosen to take on Mr Ahern in a war the Government cannot afford to lose.