asked the Minister for Education how many secondary teachers completed the special form and were paid for the period of the withdrawal of services in February 1969; and if credit was given to teachers whose Easter holidays were voluntarily curtailed.
Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers. - Secondary Teachers' Salaries.
111.
The number of teachers who have completed the form in question and who have been paid salary by the Department for the period referred to is thirty-one.
No credit in the form of payment of salary by my Department was given to any teacher who withdrew his or her services. However, as a concession no teacher who withdrew his or her services lost incremental or pension credit.
Is the Minister not aware that headmasters of the minority in this country were asked to fill up this form but they seem to have been especially penalised because up to a couple of weeks ago they had not been paid? Could the Minister say why that has happened and whether the position can be remedied?
Why should the Deputy suggest that headmasters of a particular denomination were penalised in some special way? Why should he phrase his question in that way?
Lay headmasters.
If the Deputy notifies me of any cases where payment has not been made, I shall have the matter looked into.
Could I raise a more general issue arising out of this? Does the Minister consider proper— this is something which goes back before his time—that when a strike takes place the people who continue to work have to sign a document saying they disapprove of the strike in order to get paid? I know of no case in the industrial history of this country since William Martin Murphy when this has been done. Does the Minister think that someone who goes to work but refuses to sign the document saying he disapproves of the strike should not be paid?
I was informed that I was legally bound to pay the teachers who did not take part in the strike. I do not know of any cases of the teachers involved not signing the form, but I will have the matter looked into.
Were the teachers who worked during the holiday period paid for doing so?
That is quite a different matter.
But that was included in the question.
I know that, but if they withdrew their services for a particular time they could not make it up during the holiday period.
They volunteered to do this.
That may be so.
Is the Minister aware that teachers who were on sick leave were asked to sign the form? I do not think that is a very nice business. It does not reflect much credit on the Minister's Department.
Is the Minister not aware that the Protestant Headmasters Association have made repeated representations about these cases and have got no satisfaction over a period of a year? How can the Minister be unaware of the situation?
There may be a problem of identification here.
Identification?
Yes, I do not know the facts of the particular case the Deputy is referring to but if he gives them to me I will have the matter looked into.