Opposition to the pensions levy for public sector workers is growing with three teaching unions announcing today they are to ballot their members for industrial action.
The executive council of the Irish National Teachers' Organisation (Into) which represents 30,000 primary teachers said there was "no option" but to seek a mandate for industrial action up to and including strike action.
Into said it will co-ordinate any activities with other unions in the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.
John Carr general secretary of the INTO said the blame for any industrial action in primary schools which may follow lies squarely on the shoulders of the Government which has unilaterally targeted public servants for pay cuts and failed to reopen social partnership talks.
Mr Carr said the vehemence of the attacks on public servants by politicians and commentators in recent months is unprecedented.
Public service workers have been singled out and targeted as spongers, freeloaders and a burden on society," he said.
He said teachers acknowledge the scale of the economic crisis, recognise its effects and know that action is needed. "But," he said, "everyone will have to play and pay their part."
"An unholy alliance of politicians, employers and the super-rich who want to preserve their privileged positions has developed whose sole aim is to blame and target the public service for the nation's economic difficulties," he added.
The Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI), also announced plans today to ballot its 18,000 members on industrial action.
The ASTI standing committee has adopted a resolution to ballot its members on up to two days industrial action to be taken in co-ordination with other public service unions in opposition to the levy.
The Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI), which 14,000 teachers and lecturers at second and third level, said it will issue ballot material from its head office next week.
"Our education service has been absolutely decimated by cutbacks in recent months and now a pay cut is to be imposed in a most unjust and unfair manner," said TUI president Don Ryan.
"There is palpable anger among teachers and lecturers that the pain of the current economic crisis is not being felt among all workers. Those who got us into the mess seem to be exempt from taking their share of the burden," he added.
Elsewhere, members of the Unite trade union working at Enterprise Ireland have this afternoon also passed a motion to ballot for industrial action in opposition to the imposed public sector pension levy.
A date for the ballot of all 200 Unite professional and technical members at the agency has yet to be set but will likely commence within the next two weeks.
"Our members are sick at the appalling loss of employment in recent weeks," said Unite regional officer Colm Quinlan after a meeting held this afternoon. "They are tired of the blame and supposed medicine for the economic ills being targeted exclusively at innocent workers. They are angry at attempts to divide the
interests of the public and private sectors.
The Association of Ambulance Personnel held a meeting of its members earlier today in Athlone to express its disappointment at the Government’s decision to introduce the levy.
“We’ve had a lot of calls since last week from members who are upset over the levy. We all know that we’re being asked to give a hand and I don’t think there’s any problem there but the problem arises because this isn’t being distributed equally,” said the AAP’s assistant chairman Barry Hayes.
“There’s no acknowledgement that people working for the emergency services aren’t working typical 9 to 5 shifts as others in the public sector might be, but are employed round the clock to provide services 24 hours a day. We’re all being tarred with the same brush and in doing this there’s no account taken of what we do as professionals and the impact that it has on our members,” he added.
Meanwhile, Pdforra, which has approximately 9,000 members, said today it believes that the resurrection of social partnership talks is the only way that the interests of low and middle-income earners will be protected in the current financial crisis.
It said that penalising one section of the workforce “is an unjust and inequitable way of attempting to restore growth in the economy.”
“The action of the Government in unilaterally imposing a pension levy on public servants following the breakdown of the social partnership talks is unfair to members of the defence forces — and they are very angry about the decision. Pdforra members recognise that public servants will be making a contribution to the finances of the Country but expect this to be done in a fair and reasonable manner,” said deputy general secretary Simon Devereux.
The association estimates that members of the defence forces will pay around €2,950 per annum, under the proposed pension levy.
”Pdforra’s position is that the pension levy is an unfair tax levied exclusively on public servants which should be replaced by other taxation measures on the workforce generally,” said Mr Devereux.
