The Labour Court has been "very unfair" to the Association of Secondary Teachers, Ireland, and pushed them into a corner, Mr Batt O'Keeffe TD of Fianna Fail has said.
The court's decision to regard the 8.5 per cent wage increase due this year under the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness as an up-front payment to ASTI members was a missed opportunity, the Cork TD claimed. "It alienated ASTI members and clouded any decision that they would make. I would now call on the Government to state clearly that the 8.5 per cent is part of the national wage rise," he said.
Supporting calls for direct talks, Mr O'Keeffe said the Government should offer to hold benchmarking negotiations "in parallel" with those involving other unions to give the ASTI leadership room for manoeuvre.
"I am very concerned about the relationship between teachers, pupils and parents. It has deteriorated rapidly since the strike began. Tension in classrooms is very high. That is not in the best long-term interest of anybody.
"Given that we are talking about the future of our young people, all sides should be prepared to make rational moves to overcome the serious impasse that has arisen," he went on.
The ASTI leadership should be concerned about its ability to keep the union's ranks intact if the dispute carried on.
"Union members conscious of the interests of their students may in fact break the ASTI ruling and offer themselves in a private capacity to correct exam papers," he said.
Labour TD and education spokeswoman Ms Roisin Shortall said the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, must get involved in the dispute. "Some new initiative is required if significant damage is not to be done to the education and career prospects of second-level students."
Though she understood the disappointment felt by many teachers at the Labour Court recommendation, she said there would ultimately have to be compromise on all sides.
"What is very clear is that there is now little confidence among teachers or parents in the ability of the Minister for Education, Dr Michael Woods, to broker a solution," she said.
