Branch AGMs and Croke Park Deal

Welcome back everybody, and we hope 2013 has been good to you so far.
Just to let you know, we hope to meet in early February. With the Allowance battle early this school year, many meetings took place, and we hope that this next meeting will be focused on NQT priorities for Congress, and the Croke Park Extension you will have all heard about of late.

Just some updates below on upcoming events and issues

Croke Park Agreement Extension and Branch AGMs:
The Government announced late last year that it wishes to save a further €1bn across the Public Sector through the Croke Park Agreement. This will be in addition to the planned savings of over €3bn.
This will bring new challenges to our pay and conditions. Today, the public sector unions, including the INTO, met with the Government representatives, and will meet again tomorrow with a focus on education. Union leaders exited the talks with a sober outlook for members. In particular some areas which are up for discussion are further 'Croke Park Hours', increment freezes, pay cuts, and cuts to non-core pay.
None of these are final, nor are they specific yet to one group of public sector workers, nor one particular group of teachers.
However, as we are well aware, the original and existing Croke Park Agreement has attacked and decimated NQTs and new entrants in many ways.

To ensure this does not happen again, while ensuring that pay and conditions of all teachers is protect, NQTs, NPTs should have their voices heard.
The next event at which you can have your voice heard, stand up for your pay and conditions, and hear the voices of others, will be your Branch AGMs. You will be informed by your Branch Secretary of the venue and time, but also they are available on the INTO website here.

These will be difficult deliberations, and any agreement extension will have to go to ballot of members. Despite the difficulties that our union faces, this must only be a spur and driving force for us to stand up for all our members and ensure that the Government cannot inflict further casualties unfairly on Public Sector workers, over half of whom earn less than €50,000 a year.

Keep up to date at www.into.ie/ROI

Lastly, at your Branch AGM motions for this year's Congress in the Silver Springs Hotel, Cork, will be discussed and deliberated over in order to give them a priority rating. If you have been involved in wording motions and proposing them it is important that you attend. If not, it is still vitally important as each view, interpretation and opinion is vital in order for our Union's compass and direction be driven by the members.