2nd April 2018
The INTO president John Boyle told the union’s annual Congress in Killarney that pay equality is the union’s priority. He said the current pay agreement had failed to deliver pay equality which led to its rejection by all three teacher unions.
Mr. Boyle said newer teachers had been disproportionately affected by lower pay scales and he demanded an end to two tier pay in schools in talks between government and unions to begin this month.
Addressing the union’s annual Congress Mr Boyle said it was past time that “young teachers received assurance that they would be treated with dignity and respect in terms of equal pay”.
Over a career in teaching a 2012 entrant to teaching will earn €100,000 less than a 2010 entrant. A 2017 entrant to teaching is set to earn €56,000 less than a 2010 entrant.
That translates into annual losses of between €1,400 and €2,500 over a career in teaching.
The primary teachers’ union president told delegates and guests most comparable countries are now spending more per student than they did in 2008 but that Ireland was an exception. He said the OECD had shown per student spending in Ireland was falling in recent years.
“The main reason is that starting salaries for teachers are now below the OECD average from a point where Irish teachers had a salary advantage over counterparts in other countries,” said Mr Boyle. “This shows the extent of the cuts to new entrant pay imposed by government in recent years and the pressing need to address pay inequality in the teaching profession.”