New mandatory procedure a significant help in tackling casualisation of teaching profession - TUI

By piofficer, Friday, 2nd September 2016 | 0 comments

The Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) has negotiated a new mandatory procedure for filling teacher posts/hours. The union has described this as ‘very significant’ in the battle against casualisation of the profession.

As a result of the new procedure, hours or posts that become available in a school must be offered, in the first instance, to serving teachers on part-time hours who are suitably qualified.

The new mandatory procedure follows the agreement reached between the TUI and the Department of Education and Skills last May which TUI members accepted in a national ballot. Acceptance of the agreement also meant that TUI members were covered by the Lansdowne Road Agreement.

The union has also reiterated its commitment to achieving pay parity for all teachers.

Speaking today, TUI President Joanne Irwin said:

‘This new procedure represents a significant gain for part-time teachers.

It was once the case that second-level teachers were able to secure full-time positions early in their careers. However, for several years now the bulk of new teachers in the sector have been subsisting on fractions of full jobs. Many of these teachers experience income poverty, often struggling to meet even basic financial commitments such as rent. We estimate that 30% or more of our second-level members are employed on such a temporary, part-time basis, and that this proportion grows to 50% for those under 35. In such a situation, it can take several years to secure a full-time contract.

As a result of the new procedure, hours or posts that become available in a school must now be offered to suitably qualified serving teachers on part-time hours in the first instance. They will therefore be in a much better position to secure full hours early in their careers.  We have no doubt that this will go a long way towards addressing the scourge of casualisation in our schools.

The procedure will provide enhanced security of employment and increased teaching hours for teachers on less than full hours, as more hours/posts become available in their school.

Pay Equality

The issue of pay parity for new and recent entrants to the teaching profession remains the union’s priority. In this regard, we and our colleagues in the INTO have had a series of constructive meetings with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) and the Department of Education and Skills (DES). In terms of pay, teachers, along with a small number of other grades of public sector employees, were disproportionately hit as a result of the withdrawal of allowances, in 2012. The decision to restore the value of their allowance to Firefighters within the Lansdowne Road Agreement has been acknowledged by all parties as an important precedent.

We entered into these negotiations in good faith and anticipate that there will be a positive outcome in the very near future. Of course, the union already holds a mandate for industrial action on this issue (following a national ballot in January) that we will activate if the need arises.

Our campaign will continue until pay parity has been achieved.’

Note: The revised procedure and sequence for filling available teacher posts/hours is set out in Circular Letter 0059/2016.

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