Thread by @CatrionaGolden

PSSA @INTOnews vote, a thread.

So, I'm going to collate my thoughts here as I try to work through the deal & implications.

Please correct me if I have understood anything wrong!

I want to come to a decision myself today, but I haven't finalised it yet.

#edchatie

#1

My context, because this will appeal to different people for different reasons

How this impacts me:
➡️ Old payscale
➡️ New pension
➡️ Teaching Principal (benchmarking/ workload changes)

#2

Basis for the info for the thread

➡️ INTO Webinar & comms
➡️ Glór Webinar
➡️ @anseo podcast
➡️ The agreement itself (skimmed & in parts)
➡️ Other people's posts/tweets and chatting with colleagues

#3

Pay:

➡️ This does not achieve pay equality.
➡️ It achieves 98.9% of full pay for B.Ed graduates, over the lifetime of their career (not immediately).
➡️ Post grads were not considered in defining equality and are significant less "equal".
➡️ It does not restore allowances

#4

Pay cont:
➡️ @INTOnews strongly believe it is the best we are going to get. And rejecting will end up with a worse deal, particularly with COVID economic impact in the background.
➡️ Increase of 1% (or €500 if bigger) for all teachers in Oct 2021 and a further 1% in 2022

#5

Pay cont:

➡️ Personal view.

I think if accepted it cements the pay inequality & it will be seen as done & dealt with. I think this will mean we're accepting pay inequality forever. I know they're saying we can go back, but they're also saying this is equality

#6

Pensions:

➡️ This deal doesn't touch pensions or pension equality at all.

It was never planned to and that will have to be a separate thing altogether.

#7

Benchmarking:

➡️INTO will use sectoral bargaining fund to fund benchmarking from Feb 2022
➡️ This is the big carrot for Principals/Deputy. 14 years waiting as workload continued to rise. Its a big positive and it's certainly personally(selfishly) an attraction to a Yes vote.

#8

Benchmarking(cont) :

➡️ Not back paid, not surprising but worth noting.
➡️ Not reflected in pension for this who have retired since. This is a big sticking point for me. Although again I don't think it's surprising or likely to change.

#9

"Productivity":
➡️ Unlimited, undefined productivity requirements.
➡️ Likely to continue initiative overload, Cosán, etc
➡️ Unlimited, undefined increase to principal workload, which will filter down.
➡️ Feel like a blank slate, with no avenue for recourse if it's too much

#10

"Productivity" cont:
➡️ While it is concerning, reality is its happening anyway. And I don't believe there's a snowballs chance in hell it's something we'd strike over anyway. So, not convinced it really make much difference, bar in principle.

Appreciate others may disagree

#11

Other thoughts:

➡️ Some will argue we should take what we can get. Economy going downhill, not going to get any better, and we've proven that the union will not strike over this regardless. So we might as well get what we can. I've heard this argument from some LPTs too

#12

➡️ Others will argue we just focus on an injury to one being an injury to all. We should never have allowed pay inequality to happen and by accepting this we cement that inequality and we don't fix the mess we made (knowingly or not)

#13

➡️ I'm very uncertain as to whether there will be any actual impact to a No Vote, or if it will simply be ignored by CEC again. I lost a lot of trust in them after that and it makes it all that much harder to accept their recommendations in good faith.

#14

➡️ If we vote No & CEC moves to ballot, will we get an industrial action mandate around pay in the current context.

I'd be surprised. People would be worried about the media backlash & most aren't personally impacted.

If we haven't gone on strike for it yet, will we now?

#15

➡️ But, is that a reason to give up? That nearly encourages me to vote No more on principle. Because we have to say this isn't OK. The lack of solidarity amongst colleagues will cause serious issues in my view.

#16

➡️ @astiunion & @TUIunion pushing a No Vote. What's the difference?
➡️ They don't get the PME allowance anymore which widens pay equality for all their members.
➡️ We didn't get PME allowance but Post Grads did start on higher point but they're a smaller % of our members

#17

➡️ Clarification/correction of previous : INTO Webinar said they are determined the benchmarking would apply to those who have retired. But no detail yet on any of that.

#18