Sinn Féin spokesperson on Education Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire TD has commented on the decision of the ASTI to vote against the public service pay agreement.  

Teachta Ó Laoghaire said 

“I note the result of the ASTI ballot on the public service pay agreement. It clearly reflects the frustration of many within the sector that the issue of pay equality for lower paid teachers has not been dealt with. 

“ASTI members clearly felt unsatisfied that true pay equality was going to be delivered by this deal for lower paid teachers. It is disappointing that despite the fact that the issue of pay equality has been debated over and over again, and several Ministers have committed to ending it, that there will still be a pay differential in the coming years, and that many lower paid teachers feel left behind yet again.

“The Minister for Education needs to now engage with the ASTI and the other school staff unions to ensure that sectoral pay and condition issues can be resolved. 

“I would stress that the pay deal under consideration does not prevent specific sectoral issues from being resolved. So even if this pay deal is carried – as appears likely – by ICTU’s Public Services Committee, then we shouldn’t simply ignore longstanding issues such as pay equality for school staff. 

“The Minster should continue to engage with the unions to bring pay equality to fruition. Equal pay for equal work is a basic principle that must be upheld. 

“Sinn Féin believe that this should have been addressed in the public sector pay deal, but it is not too late now for the Minister for Education to deal with this issue in a sectoral-specific manner.”