The Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) is to ballot its members to seek a mandate for industrial action.

The 14,000 strong union, which represents teachers and lecturers at second and third level, will issue ballot material from its head office next week.

Speaking today TUI President Don Ryan said:

“We will be balloting for industrial action and it is also imperative that all TUI members lobby their local public representatives in the coming days as a matter of urgency. 

We will ballot our members on industrial action 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.

Union branch meetings have been packed to the rafters with members furious with the Government’s flawed scapegoating of the public service. TUI’s head office has been bombarded with e-mails, calls and letters from members outraged by the imposition.

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.

Our members are prepared to take their fair share of the burden, but only if all others who can afford to pay are seen to do likewise.

Specifically, teachers believe they are being directly punished for the catastrophic mistakes of bankers and developers. Many of these banking executives continue to take home salaries several times those of even the highest paid public service workers.

Our members will also be taking part in the mass natinonal demonstration in Dublin on Saturday February 21st.”

Public Servant Levies
Public servants have been asked to take the hit by the imposition of additional levy on their pay. They now pay
•        a pension levy of 6.5%,
•        PRSI of 4%,
•        a health levy of 2%,
•        tax at the appropriate rate,
•        an income levy introduced in January 2009 and
•        now an additional levy of up to 10%. “

TUI is encouraging all members to lobby their local TDs, emphasising their outrage at the imposition of the so-called pension levy, the scapegoating of the public service and the devastating effect education cutbacks will have on schools and colleges in their community.

E-mail addresses of Dáil members