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A major breakthrough has been secured by second level unions ASTI and TUI which will provide job security to temporary/ part-time teachers after just two years. The unions have described the recommendations of an expert group established as part of the Haddington Road Agreement as a significant step in the right direction in tackling the problem of casualisation of the profession.
Up to 50% of second level teachers under 35 – and a third of all teachers – are currently in part-time employment, applying for fragments of jobs with no guarantee of being retained from year to year.
Both unions have consistently and explicitly demanded that this crisis of casualisation be addressed and, as a result of these efforts, the qualification period for offer of a Contract of Indefinite Duration (CID) was reduced from 4 years to 3 years in the case of teachers and lecturers with effect from 1st July 2013. Effectively, a CID allows teachers to hold their hours on a permanent basis.
An expert group on casualisation was also provided for under the terms of the Haddington Road Agreement and its findings today further reduce the qualification period of a CID to just two years, subject to criteria.
The unions praised the constructive role played by the current Minister Jan O’ Sullivan, her predecessor Ruairi Quinn and the officials of the Department in acknowledging the crisis, and also the work of the expert group and in particular its chairperson Peter Ward.
Commenting on the report, TUI General Secretary John MacGabhann said: ‘As a result of casualisation of the profession, students are often taught a particular subject by a succession of teachers over the course of their Junior Cycle. Today’s breakthrough will go a long way to dealing with this problem and providing teachers with viable career paths. It is a significant step in the right direction. We will continue to vigorously campaign for a return to the sound, educationally-valid practice of making initial teacher appointments on a permanent basis.’
ASTI General Secretary Pat King said: ‘At all times during the discussions on the Haddington Road Agreement, ASTI and TUI demanded that the level of fixed-term and part-time employment in second-level teaching be addressed. The new system will afford teachers job security. It will also ensure that the profession remains attractive to graduates of a very high calibre.’