Impact members protest against pay cuts in Dublin last December

Most public sector unions are set to reduce membership fees or have already done so following the pay cuts imposed in December's budget.

The Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO), which charges a set annual fee of €386, will discuss a motion at its conference in Galway at Easter to decrease fees by around 6%.

Sheila Nunan, incoming general secretary of the union, said it was an opportune time to examine its finance and structure in light of the many challenges facing the union in the coming years.

The secondary teachers union, the Asti, which charges a set annual fee of €340.60, will also consider a cut at its annual conference which also takes place in Galway in Easter.

The Teachers Union of Ireland, which bases its charges on a percentage of salary, has already seen its fees reduced from €431 to €406 – a reduction of 6% – following the pay cut introduced last month.

Other unions which set membership fees or union dues as a percentage of salary of their members are also facing a reduction in fee income following the pay cut introduced by finance minister Brian Lenihan.

These include the Pseu, which represents middle management in the public service, which charges 0.62% of salary. This works out at an annual charge of around €330 per year for an executive officer on a maximum of €53,000. The pay cut in January would reduce that fee to around €310 a year.

Impact, which represents professional and technical staff, charges 0.8% capped at a salary of €47,700 or a maximum fee of €380 a year. The nurses' union has already cut its fees 6%.

While the cut, at around €25 a year or €2 a month, is minimal for members, a union leader said it was important that the leadership showed solidarity with members who have suffered pay cuts of around 14% in less than 12 months. But the drop in income for the likes of Asti and the Into is close to €500,000 each.

This comes at a time when the unions are engaging in costly advertising and protest campaigns against the pay cuts while union resources and officials are stretched managing the nationwide work-to-rule.