A union has hinted teachers will take strike action if they don’t get pay rises to help them cope with soaring living costs.
The three main unions are holding their annual conferences this week during the Easter mid-term break and pay is top of the agenda once more.
The conference season kicked off with the country’s primary school teachers at their Irish National Teachers’ Organisation Congress in Killarney.
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INTO’s General Secretary, Joe McKeown, said: “The serious erosion of our standard of living caused by the recent increase in inflation has to be addressed urgently by government if industrial harmony is to continue.”
The Government will be very wary of granting a pay rise to any one single category of workers in the public sector like teachers as it could have a massive domino effect with demands coming for more money from all other public employees.
The cost of living has spiralled out of control in recent months and inflation is set to hit 8% by late summer.
If the Government were to meet the demands of teachers and grant pay increases to match inflation, it could cripple public finances.
The Department of Public Expenditure’s senior officials are currently locked in talks with all of the national unions representing the civil service and public service.
It is expected that a new pay deal will be hammered out in the coming months and formally announced in the summer.
But in the meantime, Mr McKeown issued a stark warning in Killarney, saying teachers’ concerns need to be addressed “urgently,” hinting that they may not be willing to wait for the broader public sector deal.
Mr McKeown said in his address to delegates: “National pay agreements have provided much needed stability and security through the most difficult of times.
“In the bad times we endured swingeing pay cuts and savage reductions in public services.
“As we emerged from recession, our pay demands were modest as we sought to play our part in creating secure foundations for sustainable growth.”
He added that the union would be pursuing “proper” pay increases to ensure its members “are not taken for granted”.
Education Minister, Norma Foley, will be addressing the INTO conference today.
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