IPPN

Published: 20 November 2009

Strike
Children, parents, teachers and Principals will be in unfamiliar territory this Tuesday as most people cannot remember the details of the last strike.  This strike is taking place against the background of wide spread job losses, pay decreases, rising taxes, negative equity and growing public anxiety.  Aside from the reasons for this strike, its merit as a tactic and the consequences to follow, it is a stressful time for Principals who are members of the BoM and at the same time members of a trade union with conflicting rights and obligations.  Add to that, Principals depend heavily on the support and goodwill of parents.  As one Principal today, ‘I feel like I am in the eye of the storm’. 

The networking@ippn.ie mailing list has carried many questions over recent days exploring a variety of issues relating to staff members who are not members of a trade union, members of staff who want to work on the 24th and situations where some BoMs have formally voted to instruct all staff to report for duty on the day.  While not attempting to add another list of FAQs, there are a few points that we suggest are worth considering in the event of unforeseen problems.

1. Any decisions required arising from issues such as staff going on strike action, staff wishing to report for work; staff paid directly by the BoM etc, must be taken by the BoM
2. Only the BoM can close a school in a non-emergency situation such as this.  If your BoM has not met recently, such a meeting might advisably take place as soon as possible
3. Recognising your obligations as a member of the BoM and your rights as a member a trade union, it is important that any decisions regarding staff and school closure are made by the BoM and communicated by the Chairperson.  This is essential if you hope to preserve good relationships with teachers, other staff, children, parents and the BoM. 

Floods
It is said that ‘timing is everything’, however the extremely bad weather and country- wide flooding which is causing serious transport problems, couldn’t be happening at a worse time particularly for parents as they attempt to arrange childcare for the Tuesday strike.  Thankfully there has been no loss of life due to recent flooding.  Some schools have been forced to close today Friday, and based on the level of queries to our support office, many schools will not be open on Monday.  It may be wise to assess the risk for your school vis-à-vis school transport, parental access to the school and other related safety matters.  We know that it is always easy to be wise in hind-sight, but not so in advance.  Where there is any serious risk to the safety of children and staff to whom the BoM has a duty of care, common sense should apply in deciding whether the school should be open or closed.   

As Principal you know that it is not easy to gather 8 members of a board together for an emergency meeting.  Where critical decisions about school closure arise, the Chairperson and the Principal can make that decision. 

TextaParent.ie
If you need to communicate quickly with parents or the members of your BoM, with TextaParent.ie you can do so from any PC with internet access.  To activate your account - Tel: 1890 21 22 23

Is sinne le meas

Seán Cottrell & Pat Goff