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Bulletin 14 Cuts

The Con/Lib government is about to announce an ‘emergency’ budget. Feverish government propaganda seems to indicate a pay freeze for all public sector workers as well as savage cutbacks to departmental budgets. In Northern Ireland education has already sustained serious cutbacks-the full effects of which have yet to be felt.

The future looks grim with next week’s emergency budget and radical proposals for the 2011-2014 Comprehensive Spending Review in the Autumn. Both are likely to cause acute distress to teachers and public sector workers. For this reason INTO is supporting a protest against cuts on Thursday 24 June outside the European Commission Office, Dublin Road, Belfast from 5 to 6 PM.

INTO continues to commend Education Minister Caitriona Ruane MLA for all her efforts to protect frontline services and children’s education and urges the maintenance of this strategy. However it is clear that the British Government is determined to penalise teachers and public sector workers for the banks’ bailout by implementing the models of the Canadian and Irish governments.

Teachers are due a 2.3% salary increase in September as the final stage of a three-year pay agreement. INTO is demanding that this pay agreement is honoured. These are difficult times and teachers and public sector workers should not be required to shoulder a disproportionate burden of any budget outcome.

INTO will keep this situation under review. Updates will be available on the INTO website www.into.ie over the summer and members can sign up for e-bulletins on the website.

Best wishes to all teachers for the summer!

Date: Thursday, 17 June 10