Members of the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) have voted by a margin of 63% to 37% (on a turnout of 57%) to accept a proposed agreement with the Department of Education and Skills.
Key to the decision of TUI members is the expectation that the scandal of discriminatory pay afflicting new and recent entrants to the profession will be dealt with. This is a matter of priority for the TUI, as it is for ICTU. Members took clear note of the decision to restore the value of their allowance to Firefighters within the context of the Lansdowne Road Agreement (LRA), which TUI members will now be covered by from July 1st.
In addition, the union remains committed to the elimination of casualisation within the teaching and lecturing professions, and the acceptance of the proposed agreement ensures that TUI members will maintain the benefits of the Ward and Cush reports, which, among other advances and protections, shorten the length of time required for teachers and lecturers to achieve permanency.
The accepted agreement, which addresses issues which were not dealt with by the LRA, provides tangible concessions as well as additional stepping stones for further progress on workload, staffing and funding, terms and conditions, bureaucracy and professional autonomy.
Other measures within the accepted agreement include:
From January 2017 – one less ‘flex’ teaching hour in Institutes of Technology as an initial measure
Greater teacher autonomy in usage of ‘Croke Park’ hours (increase from 5 to 10 hours per annum; not whole-school and in blocks of 30 minutes)
Progress towards appropriate contracts/terms and conditions in Adult, Further Education and Youthreach
Commitment by the Department of Education and Skills to reducing bureaucracy (in preparation for inspections, Quality Assurance etc.)
An immediate review of the process for allocating new teaching hours to existing staff