The Executive Committee of the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) this evening decided to recommend that members accept the negotiated proposals around implementation measures for Senior Cycle in an upcoming ballot.
Following intensive discussions between union representatives and the Department of Education, a document, Senior Cycle Redevelopment Implementation Support Measures, was published by the Department, and this has been assessed by the union’s Executive Committee.
Click here to download the document.
In a separate ballot, the union will seek that in the event of the negotiated document not being accepted, members vote to engage in a campaign of industrial action, up to and including strike action.
The proposals include:
- Payment of the 3% pay increase due under the Local Bargaining provision of the Public Service Agreement 2024-2026 for co-operation with Senior Cycle and the related productivity associated with this significant reform.
- A rebalancing of the ‘Croke Park’ hours, which increases the 10 non-whole school hours to 14 hours, to allow for teacher-led activities related to Senior Cycle
- A shorter qualifying period of one year for teachers to attain permanency by way of a contract of indefinite duration (CID)
- An additional dedicated post of responsibility for Senior Cycle purposes in schools
- An additional dedicated post of responsibility for schools offering Senior Cycle Level 1 and Level 2 Learning programmes
- A commitment to further engagement around workload, resourcing for additional allocations to schools in certain circumstances, resourcing for science laboratories and the establishment of a task force on Artificial Intelligence
- A commitment to considering the timing of the implementation of individual subjects
Speaking this evening, TUI President David Waters said:
‘TUI’s campaign to protect fairness and standards at Senior Cycle level has already had some notable successes. The union successfully campaigned against the plan to introduce Paper One of the terminal Leaving Certificate examinations in both English and Irish at the end of fifth year, with the shelving of the plan announced in February 2023.’
‘Even more significantly, the then Minister announced in September 2023 that she was dropping plans for teachers to mark their own students for State certification purposes. This has always been a red-line issue for our members.’
‘However, the then Minister also announced her intention to accelerate the pace of Senior Cycle redevelopment from the original timeline, which led to significant concerns from members. We continued to campaign around these issues which culminated in a joint lunchtime protest with ASTI members in November 2024 to highlight teachers’ legitimate concerns.’
‘More recently, the TUI has been involved in intensive engagement with the Department of Education around the concerns of our members in relation to the accelerated pace of Senior Cycle Redevelopment. The union made a significant submission to the Department on the measures we wished to see implemented. This submission is available to read in the appendix of the Senior Cycle Redevelopment Implementation Support Measures document.’
‘The Executive Committee of the union has assessed the document and is recommending that members accept it.’
‘The Union believes that these proposals are the best that that could be achieved through negotiation and that they have the potential to allay concerns expressed by teachers in terms of both workload and the resources required by schools and teachers to implement Senior Cycle redevelopment.’
‘In a separate ballot, the union will seek that in the event of the negotiated document not being accepted, members vote to engage in a campaign of industrial action, up to and including strike action.’
Ballot material and a TUI News ballot special will issue to TUI members next week. Regional information meetings for members will also be arranged. Keep an eye on the TUI website for full details.