Secondary teachers union to ask for pay increase to “compensate” for rising cost of living

The union won't rule out industrial action.

The Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) is to ask the Government for pay increases to “compensate” for the rising cost of living. The trade union, which represents 18,000 secondary school teachers, is hoping to secure between 6% and 8% of a pay rise for its members instead of the planned 1% pay rise for teachers in October. Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, ASTI General Secretary Kieran Christie said that the 1% increase “won’t cut it” amid high levels of inflation and that teachers need “a substantial” pay rise to “put teaching back on an even keel”. While Christie said “it’s too early” to look at taking industrial action, he said the union “certainly” is not ruling it out. Both the ASTI and the Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO) are today holding their first in-person annual conferences since the pandemic began. Education Minister Norma Foley is to address both conferences, with topics of discussion expected to include the reformation of the Leaving Cert and the integration of thousands of Ukrainian children into the Irish education system.