Mediation talks between the Department of Education and the ASTI on the ongoing industrial disputes are continuing this week and it is expected that the process will continue until the end of November. The talks are confidential and all parties have agreed that they will not comment on the talks during the process.

The talks are being facilitated by the Teachers Conciliation Council. The four main issues in contention with the Union are supervision and substitution duties, working additional hours, new entrant pay levels and junior cycle reform. The ASTI have previously warned that they may resume industrial action if a significant deal is not brokered. The Department will be seeking to ensure that all issues are resolved as part of any deal that might be agreed.

While the ASTI has written to schools this week reminding them that they should have contingency plans in place in the event that the directive on supervision and substitution were to be re-instated, there has been a positive development with the Union dropping its ban on principals co-operating with contingency plans to keeps schools open.

The ASTI has advised schools that “ASTI-member principals and deputy principals will not be prohibited from operating contingency arrangements in terms of recruitment and assignment of personnel”. This means that the likelihood of the indefinite closure of schools has reduced somewhat although schools would still struggle to hire replacements within a workable timeframe.

Comments