Union spends €35k teaching education minister a lesson [tribune.ie]
- Published: 04 April 2010
In one of the most expensive snubs in Irish political history, the secondary teachers' union ASTI has spent €35,000 holding a meeting to "dis-invite" the education minister from its annual conference.
Mary Coughlan, who is in the job less than a fortnight, has been told to stay away from the gathering, which starts in Galway on Tuesday.
Full Story: www.tribune.ie
Decision time at teachers’ conferences [sbpost.ie]
- Published: 04 April 2010
One issue will dominate the teachers’ conferences which start this week - the draft public service agreement. While pay was always going to be an issue at the annual Easter conferences, it had been hoped that the moratorium on the appointment of certain teaching posts and education cutbacks would take centre stage.
But now the debate on whether members should vote to accept the deal - and the differences that have emerged between the three main teacher unions - will be the focal point of the conferences.
The Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) leadership has rejected the deal, which includes teachers being asked to work an extra hour a week as well as having their contracts renegotiated.
Full Story: www.sbpost.ie
Coughlan to get a cool reception at debates [sbpost.ie]
- Published: 04 April 2010
The minister has not been invited to the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland conference, which takes place in Galway, as the union had already withdrawn its invitation to the previous minister, Batt O’Keeffe, and it was ‘‘too late to re-invite the new minister’’.
However, Coughlan did meet a delegation from the union in the Dáil last Thursday, when issues such as the moratorium on replacing teaching posts were discussed. She also had introductory talks with leadership delegations from the other unions.
Coughlan will attend the conferences of the Teachers’ Union of Ireland and the Irish National Teachers Organisation in Ennis and Galway. Political sources said that she did not have ‘‘a bagful of goodies’’ to bring, but was likely to signal a new round of the summer works scheme for schools, with an allocation of €100 million.
Full Story: www.sbpost.ie
National Union of Teachers threatens strikes if school budgets are cut [timesonline.co.uk]
- Published: 03 April 2010
Teachers are threatening to strike if the next government imposes cuts on school budgets.
The leadership of the National Union of Teachers, the largest teaching union, urged its members to back industrial action to oppose any cuts to services, pay freezes or curbs to teachers’ pensions.
An emergency motion from the union’s executive, to be debated at its annual conference in Liverpool this weekend, commits the NUT to a co-ordinated campaign with other public sector unions to oppose cuts.
Full Story: www.timesonline.co.uk
Parents and students make up for school cutbacks [IrishExaminer]
- Published: 03 April 2010
PARENTS and students are being forced to pay for a significant chunk of education cutbacks through increased school donations and payments for regular school activities, a survey of second-level schools has found.
As well as the loss of teachers, some subjects and programmes being dropped and fewer staff to do administrative work, schools are reporting that they have had to increase voluntary contributions charged to parents.
Full Story: www.irishexaminer.com
