teachers union OF ireland / AONTAS MúiNTeOirí éireann VOL.37 / NO.4 ewsfebruary 2015
content p.2 A Word from The Presidet p.4 Juior Cycle update p.5 Pay Claim p.6 istitute News p.10 Posts of resposibility p.12 Youg Scietist exhibitio p.16 Pregacy related sick leave P. 17 Volutary redeploymet scheme Muster p.19 Geder divide i seior iot positios p.20 TUi cocers over draft Teachig Coucil regulatios p.27 World News p.24 TUi i the media p.26 Pre-retiremet semiar p.27 rma News p.28 Crossword TUI s Aual Cogress 2015 takes place i Whites of Wexford betwee Tuesday, April 7th ad Thursday, April 9th. Full details, icludig importat dates, accommodatio optios ad crèche form are available by clickig the lik o the homepage of the TUI website. A Word from The Presidet Juior cycle dispute Teachers have show a commedable level of determiatio, disciplie ad digity over two days of strikes i defece of educatioal stadards ad the teachig professio. The Juior Cycle dispute has the potetial to become a watershed i the recet history of austerity-drive damage to the irish educatio system. The strikes have secured a resumptio of talks o a o precoditios basis, stregtheed our egotiatio had ad provided a platform to persuade the public of our geuie cocers for the well-beig of our studets ad professio. Noe of us should be i ay doubt about the value of the latter opportuity as some critics of our hoourable resistace, icludig the previous Miister, have sought to dismiss our stace as posturig. ideed, this attitude to the teachig professio appears to be oe of the factors behid the adversarial approach to us by some policy makers. Such approaches by maagemet damage school capacity ad teacher morale. We will ot tolerate this. Teachers are supportive of geuie reform emergig from real egotiatio because oly o that basis ca workable ad sustaiable chage for the better occur. it is part of our professioal ature to seek to improve school life i ways such as social iclusivity, holistic educatio, studet well-beig ad attaimet. We wat irelad to have the best educatio system i the world. But as practitioers we have a deep kowledge ad uderstadig of what are realistic steps towards achievig ambitious educatioal goals. We also kow that we caot do it o our ow ad that austerity has pushed schools ad teachers far beyod capacity ad what are reasoable expectatios. Time, resources ad support structures have bee dagerously depleted. There is a resposibility o the curret Miister to address these serious deficits. importat opportuities have arise durig this dispute to repudiate attempts to justify reform measures o the basis that such measures are used i other successful educatio systems. Cherry-pickig of iteratioal educatioal practices ca igore both the irish cultural cotext ad the ackowledgemet by experts that attempted cross polliatio may ot work or cause damage. it is also iterestig to ote that while Filad has bee refereced by the Departmet of educatio ad Skills with regard to school based assessmet, there has bee o suggestio by the Departmet that the absece of a school ispectio system i that coutry should also be adopted here. Furthermore, i attemptig to defed the worst aspects of their proposals, the Departmet costructed a message for the public which appeared to deigrate the excellet chages which have already occurred i Juior Cycle ad the professioalism of teachers. TUi ad ASTi used every available opportuity to couteract this by usig evidece such as editorial PrODUCTiON Aette Dola Deputy Geeral Secretary adola@tui.ie David Duffy Educatio & Research Officer dduffy@tui.ie TUI News is published by the Teachers Uio of irelad. Aotas Múiteoirí Éirea, 73 Orwell Road, Rathgar, Dubli 6. Gerry Qui Presidet presidet@tui.ie Joae irwi Vice-Presidet vicepresidet@tuimail.ie Joh MacGabha Geeral Secretary jmacgabha@tui.ie Decla Gly Assistat Geeral Secretary dgly@tui.ie Aida Key Assistat Geeral Secretary akey@tui.ie Michael Gillespie Assistat Geeral Secretary mgillespie@tui.ie Colm Kelly Assistat Geeral Secretary ckelly@tui.ie Nadia Johsto Admiistrative Officer johsto@tui.ie Coor Griffi Press & Iformatio Officer cgriffi@tui.ie roisi Farrelly Developmet Officer rfarrelly@tui.ie Muirea O Toole Workplace Orgaiser motoole@tui.ie T: 01-492 2588 F: 01-492 2953 e: tui@tui.ie W: www.tui.ie Prited by: Typecraft Ltd. 2 February 2015 - TUi NeWS
TEACHERS FIGHT BACK irelad`s cosistetly favourable showig i iteratioal comparisos. There are some commetators who say that while we have strog argumets, we should put up with our lot. They argue that teachers should ot have a veto over educatioal policy. however, as a professio we have a duty to iform the public of the implicatios of misguided policies for society. i additio, recogitio ad the exercise of trade uio rights is as much a part of a fuctioig democracy as policy developmet by civil servats. As this TUI News goes to prit, both secod-level teacher uios are preparig for a resumptio of talks. The TUi ad ASTi are ready ad determied to egotiate robustly to secure our objectives. We wat to resolve this dispute ad secure a good deal for studets ad teachers. i order to try ad achieve this i will cotiue to work at both maitaiig ad stregtheig the co-ordiated approach with ASTi. i the meatime it would be helpful if Braches, members o a idividual basis ad our Staff represetatives o etbs ad Boards of Maagemet cotiue to argue our case ad seek support from represetatives at all levels across the political spectrum. We should build o the strog idicatios of support we are gettig from the geeral public i order to create a political cotext which will assist i securig a acceptable resolutio of the dispute. The alterative is further idustrial actio. third Level i the last editio of TUI News a umber of Braches were reported as takig importat iitiatives i defedig the professioal ad employmet cocers of their members. Such local leadership is vital i the face of major challeges, ot least of which is the questio of iot mergers ad Techological Uiversities. however, as the process of mergers develops at differet paces (or ot at all) i differet geographical ad political cotexts, it is importat that TUi coordiates local Brach activity with overarchig cocers about matters such as cotracts ad ratioalisatio. We must haress our cosiderable Brach ad Official ability i a cohesive effort to beefit all members ad resist the fragmetatio of the sector. A TUi policy TUi PreSiDeNT GerrY QUiNN AND ASTi PreSiDeNT PhiLiP irwin JOiN The PiCKeT AT rosmini COMMUNiTY SChOOL in DeCeMBer documet arisig from cosultatio would assist i this regard. iots have served ad cotiue to serve their regios, socially ad ecoomically, with distictio. it has bee show that there is a retur of betwee 4 ad 5 euro to the irish ecoomy from every euro ivested i higher educatio. TUi therefore disputes that the iot sector is broke ad eeds fixig. We are deeply cocered about the ratioalisatio strategy which appears to uderpi the proposed mergers. We are also cocered about protectig the regioal missio of our iots ad the broad access to third level courses they provide, especially for those from ecoomically disadvataged backgrouds. TUi has challeged the serious shortcomigs of draft TU legislatio, icludig the absece of protectios for terms ad coditios of employmet ad pesio rights. Other threats challeged by TUi iclude the arbitrary trasfer of staff ad the weakeig of academic freedom. The draft legislatio poses a potetial threat to atioally agreed cotractual coditios. Furthermore, the proposed goverace structures do ot provide for adequate democratic represetatio for academic iterests. There is also cosiderable oppositio to the requiremet that mergers be a prerequisite for TU status. it is vital therefore that TUi cotiues to press the Miister ad the hea o these matters. All of this is set i the cotext of a third level sector which has already suffered as a result of austerity, most sigificatly because of the employmet Cotrol Framework (ecf) ad the flex hours. it is clear that these hours represet a hugely ufair impositio o lecturers ad are ot sustaiable either professioally or educatioally. We eed to focus o ways to improve coditios for lecturers. Further educatio TUi takes issue with the market drive ideology of further educatio ad traiig which uderpis the SOLAS Strategy 2014-2019 ad the implemetatio Pla. We are opposed to a policy focus o traiig at the expese of educatio ad a domiace of ecoomic objectives at the expese of a balaced approach betwee the eeds of citizes, society ad the ecoomy. We are cocered about the margialisatio of the teachig professio i Fe ad the eed to build resources ad support structures i colleges, schools ad cetres. We are also cocered about the prospect of private providers securig hegemoy i the etb sector. The Fe Cosultative Coferece i Jue 2014 provided a rage of ideas to deal with the challeges facig the sector icludig the eed to build appropriate alliaces to champio the value of educatio i Fe. To advace our ideas ad develop TUi strategy, a writte respose to the SOLAS Strategy 2014-2019 ad the implemetatio Pla is beig developed ad meetigs with SOLAS, etbi ad the DeS are plaed. i additio, a meetig of the ew Fe Advisory Coucil is beig scheduled for early i March. www.tui.ie - TUi NeWS 3
Juior cycle dispute a update At a meetig o 22d October, 2014, the TUi, ASTi ad the Miister for educatio ad Skills, Ja O Sulliva TD, agreed to have discussios over the followig weeks to see if a resolutio of the dispute could be foud. it was agreed that these discussios would be chaired by Dr Pauric Travers, former Presidet of St. Patrick s College, Drumcodra, ad a target date of 12th November was set for cocludig them. Terms of referece were agreed as follows: To have meaigful egotiatio o those aspects of the Framework for Juior Cycle ad its implemetatio which are uder dispute. The ageda compreheded the issues of cetral cocer for the uios, icludig retetio of state certificatio based o exteral, objective assessmet (uder the auspices of the State examiatios Commissio) ad capacity at system ad school level. Meetigs betwee the Departmet ad the uios, chaired by Dr Travers, were held o 7th, 10th ad 11th November. i the course of the talks, the Departmet officials, o behalf of the Miister, tabled a proposal which would provide for: Fial examiatio i third year, accoutig for 60% of Juior Cycle marks, that examiatio to be set ad marked by the State examiatios Commissio, 40% of Juior Cycle marks beig awarded for project or portfolio work to be completed durig 2d ad 3rd year, this 40% beig assessed/marked by the classroom teacher, A combiatio of iteral moderatio ad some exteral moderatio (udertake by the SeC) to support schoolbased assessmet, ad The retetio of state certificatio. While recogisig the proposal as sigificat, the uios stated clearly that it did ot address the fudametal objectio of teachers to school-based assessmet for certificatio purposes. O 11th November, the talks reached a impasse ad all parties agreed that they should be adjoured, sie die. The issue of school ad system capacity was ot dealt with i the course of the talks because of the Departmet s isistece that it would deal with the issue oly i the cotext of acceptace by the uios of the proposal that had bee tabled. Followig the adjourmet of talks, the uios joitly wrote to the Miister askig that she itervee directly i order to seek a resolutio of the matter. i respose to the uios letter of 11th November, the Miister reiterated the positio set out i her proposal but idicated that she would be happy to meet with the uios followig the meetigs of their respective executives, which were scheduled for 14th November. A commuicatio set to the members by both uios advised that, uless meaigful progress had bee registered by that date, the uios would be decidig o implemetatio of the madate that each uio has for strike actio. A joit meetig of the TUi executive Committee ad the ASTi Stadig Committee was coveed o November 14th, followed by separate meetigs of the two executives. each executive Committee agreed to issue a directive to members to take strike actio o December 2d ad agreed that a further day of actio, the date to be determied, would also be held if ecessary. From a TUi perspective, the members to take actio would be those workig i schools/colleges/cetres that provide the Juior Cycle programme icludig ay ew members based i such schools/colleges/cetres that were 4 February 2015 - TUi NeWS balloted for idustrial actio i 2014. O 17th November, a strike directive was issued to members of each uio. Advice ad iformatio o picketig ad other arragemets were also circulated. The uios met with the Miister o 19th November. each side set out its positio. The Miister asked the uios to recosider the strike. i respose, the uios stated that, i the absece of the required developmets i respect of exteral assessmet ad capacity, there was o basis for cacellig or deferrig the strike. i advace of 2d December, a joit TUi/ASTi bulleti issued to members settig out the key issues ad askig that the clearest possible message be coveyed to the geeral public about teachers legitimate cocers regardig elemets of the framework proposals. There was very extesive media iterest i ad coverage of the strike. At all poits the uios were clear i statig that we were ope to further egagemet with the Miister i a effort to seek a resolutio but that the resolutio would have to accommodate the fudametal matter of priciple that was at the heart of the dispute. The uios also set out their belief that a resolutio could be achieved that captures the best elemets of the framework ad addresses the best iterests of the educatio system ad of studets. i that regard, the willigess of teachers to lesse reliace o termial examiatios by the iclusio of additioal assessmet compoets was clarified. O December 2d, 2014, 27,000 teachers who are members of the TUi ad ASTi, egaged i strike actio that eve critics of the uios recogised as a resoudig success ad that, judged by the reactio to teachers o picket lies, was strogly supported by parets. The TUi executive Committee ad the ASTi Stadig Committee had a joit meetig followed by separate meetigs o 12th December. i view of the failure of the Miister to meet the key demads of the uios, the executives decided that the secod strike day would be 22d Jauary, 2015, with a third day of strike actio to be held o a day to be determied, if that proved ecessary. it was also agreed that the uios would egage i exploratory talks, without precoditios, with Dr Travers as chair, if ad whe a ivitatio to such talks was received. O Wedesday, 17th December, the uios met with the Oireachtas Joit Committee o educatio ad Social Protectio. This meetig was held i private ad had the purpose of providig a update to members of the Committee o issues relatig to the Juior Cycle framework. it was agreed that the meetig would ot purport to have ay egotiatig or idustrial relatios purpose. i spite of a very restricted timeframe, the uios made a joit presetatio to the committee. The Departmet of educatio ad Skills ad the Natioal Parets Coucil Post-Primary, joitly with the irish Secodary Studets Uio, also met the committee o the same day, at separate meetigs. O 15th December, the TUi ad ASTi had issued a strike directive i respect of Thursday, 22d Jauary. Strike otice also issued to the relevat maagemet bodies ad employers. The TUi ad ASTi met with Dr Travers o 19th December. The uios advised him that the strike o 2d December had cosolidated the positio of teachers ad that, if a solutio is to be foud, exteral assessmet would be at the core of it. The uios idicated that they were prepared to eter talks with the Departmet without precoditios ad to seek possibilities for resolutio. Dr Travers met separately with the Departmet.
TUi AND ASTi GeNerAL SeCreTArieS JOhN MACGABhANN AND PAT KiNG ON The PiCKeT LiNe AT rosmini COMMUNiTY SChOOL in DeCeMBer. O Jauary 9th, 2015, the uios joitly wrote to members to advise that Dr Travers had scheduled a meetig betwee the uios ad the Departmet for Wedesday, 14th Jauary. however, it was the clear view of the uios that the further day of strike actio scheduled for 22d Jauary was ecessary ad would costitute a ifluetial demostratio of resolve ad provide clear public evidece of the determiatio of teachers to protect stadards i ad the quality of educatio at Juior Cycle. The uios met the Miister ad her officials o 14th Jauary. each side clarified its positio, the uios reiteratig pricipled oppositio to school-based assessmet ad their cocer regardig capacity at system ad school level. it was recogised that a cosiderable differece remaied betwee the two respective positios. however, both sides agreed to egage i further discussios. i advace of the strike day o 22d Jauary, each uio issued a bulleti, for distributio to parets represetatives ad at the picket lies, settig out the ratioale for the strike actio. The secod strike day o Thursday, 22d Jauary, was also demostrably successful ad elicited widespread public support. The geeral thrust of commetary suggested a uderstadig amog the geeral public that there is a clear likage betwee the high level of public trust i the irish educatio system ad the cosistecy, objectivity ad fairess that is provided by exteral assessmet for the purposes of state certificatio. At the time of goig to press, a further meetig, chaired by Dr Travers, has bee scheduled for Thursday, 29th Jauary, 2015. The itetio of the uio is to seek a resolutio but oe based o respect for the core priciple that has iformed the campaig to date. i cotiuig to participate i these discussios, the uios are also keely aware of issues relatig to capacity which ievitably have sigificat resource ad workload implicatios. strike day salary deductio The Departmet of Educatio ad Skills has iformed TUI that the mechaism for applyig a cut for oe day s salary is as follows: 1. Salary is the full etitlemet icludig icremets ad allowaces payable o the day i questio. 2. Aual salary is the divided by 26.09 to obtai fortightly pay. 3. Fortightly pay is the divided by 14, which gives the gross pay deductio for oe day before tax, PrSi, superauatio, USC etc are deducted. Pay discussios likely later this year Durig the last six moths of 2014, there was a growig body of evidece i published data of a chage i the ecoomic climate ad the resumptio of ecoomic growth, albeit that the sustaiability of that growth was ot regarded as beyod questio ad might be threateed by the failure of europea istitutios to take adequate measures to stimulate demad ad prevet deflatio. Durig 2014, there was also growig evidece of uios i parts of the private sector lodgig pay claims. The executive Coucil of the ictu expressed the clear view that it is time agai for pay icreases to workers across the public ad private sector. Apart from providig ecessary compesatio to workers for recet losses, pay icreases would serve to stimulate demad ad embed growth i the ecoomy. it should be oted that, at Aual Cogress 2014, the TUi sigalled the eed for pay claims oce agai to be lodged. The ictu stated that a coheret policy is eeded i respect of pay determiatio, particularly i the cotext of cocer about the differetial rate of recovery from recessio i the various parts of the ecoomy. Towards the ed of 2014, govermet spokespersos seemed icreasigly to be suggestig that social dialogue i respect of pay determiatio is eeded. idividual uios had also, at that poit, begu to offer commet about the order of priority that should atted pay determiatio with some suggestig that, i the first istace, a restoratio of what has bee eroded i recet years should be sought. i this regard, there have bee calls for the gradual reductio ad evetual abolitio of the Uiversal Social Charge (USC) ad/or, i the cotext of the public service, elimiatio of the so-called Pesio related Deductio/pesio levy. The executive Committee of the TUi has cosidered ad is cotiuig to cosider the various optios ad priorities i this regard. it is iformed by existig TUi policy as determied by Aual Cogress. For example, a clear priority is the elimiatio of the discrimiatory disparity betwee the salary structure for those who etered teachig ad lecturig from 2011 o ad those who were i the professio before 2011. The best estimate, at the momet, is that discussio betwee govermet ad the trade uio movemet i regard to pay will probably commece i mid-summer with the possibility that there will be discussio regardig the structure ad scope of such talks i advace of that time. www.tui.ie - TUi NeWS 5
institute NeWs tui Be Bishop Phd scholarship lauched TUi, i cojuctio with the School of educatio, Triity College Dubli, lauched the TUi Be Bishop PhD Scholarship o the 12th of Jauary 2015. At the lauch, Be s wife Susa Bishop thaked the uio for the tribute ad wished the PhD cadidate every success i their research. Stephe Bishop said that his father would be proud of this iitiative by his uio. TUi Geeral Secretary Joh MacGabha thaked Be s family for attedig ad supportig the iitiative. Through this scholarship the uio is both celebratig the life of a very dear colleague ad ivestig i the future of educatio i irelad. Dr Carmel O Sulliva, head of the School of educatio, welcomed this strategic iitiative by TUi. She said that that trade uios i irelad, particularly those represetig teachers ad lecturers, have always valued the importace of educatio ad the cotributio it makes to the social good of society. This is a three year PhD scholarship payig for the tuitio fees ad maiteace grat of the successful cadidate, said Dr Joh Walsh from the Cultures, Academic Values ad educatio (CAVe) research cetre, Triity College. The scope of the scholarship will be the shiftig boudaries of academic work i higher educatio istitutes i irelad. i particular, the research will take accout of the proposals cocerig the mergers of istitutes of techology ad/or the establishmet of techological uiversities. it is expected that the research will provide a iteratioal review of similar restructurig i higher educatio istitutes. STePheN BiShOP, SUSAN BiShOP, Dr CArMeL O SULLiVAN AND JOhN MACGABhANN AT SChOLArShiP LAUNCh Applicatios for the PhD should be made through: www.tcd.ie/educatio/research/degrees/ structured-phd/ Please idicate o your proposal that you are applyig for the TUi Be Bishop Scholarship. For further equiries please cotact either Dr Adrew Loxley (loxleya@tcd.ie) or Dr Joh Walsh (walshj8@tcd.ie). Proactive egagemet delivers results for appreticeship Workig Party Members of the TUi Appreticeship Workig Party (AWP) egaged i a legthy process of deliberatio i respect of the Departmet of educatio ad Skills implemetatio Pla arisig from the Natioal review of Appreticeship. While the AWP welcomed most of the actios i the implemetatio Pla, cocers were expressed relatig to provisio of both Phase 4 ad Phase 6 programmes ad fudig of the Stadard Based system. The AWP met the Departmet of educatio ad Skills with a view to supportig areas of commo iterest ad highlightig areas of cocer. The AWP supports the promotio of appreticeship as a valid ad ecessary alterative educatio ad traiig process for youg people. registered appreticeships eable youg people to egage i formal educatio ad traiig whilst workig ad earig a wage. Appreticeships are key to progressio opportuities for youg people to access further ad higher educatio optios. The partership approach betwee employers, traiig cetres ad istitutes of techology is fudametal to the success of the appreticeship system i irelad. The AWP expressed cocer relatig to 6 February 2015 - TUi NeWS the ew fudig approach for appreticeship which is admiistered by Solas. The AWP oted with cocer there was o TUi represetatio o the board of Solas ad questioed the cosultatio process utilised by this ew agecy. The AWP also formally otified the Departmet of cocers relatig to the proposal by educatio ad Traiig Boards (etbs) of delivery of both Phase 4 ad Phase 6 programmes. The AWP stated that this would be a red lie issue ad could lead to idustrial actio. The istitutes are the providers of Phase 4 ad Phase 6 ad there is sufficiet capacity withi the iot sector to meet the curret growig demads. etbs should ot seek to duplicate ad compete with the iot sector but rather direct their resources to other areas of traiig ad educatioal eeds. The AWP cotiues to develop a close workig relatioship with the TeeU ad other trade uios ivolved with appreticeship educatio ad traiig. eamo Devoy, Geeral Secretary of the TeeU, met with the AWP to brief members o the ew Natioal Appreticeship Coucil ad its work pla for 2015. Both the AWP ad the TeeU have committed to stregtheig their relatioship with a view to promotig appreticeship, protectig the rights of appretices, maitaiig the quality ad stadards of the system ad seekig additioal fuds for the area. The two uios have agreed to the establishmet of a ad-hoc advisory coucil comprised of represetatives of trade uios with a specific iterest i appreticeship. The AWP submitted a proposal to the QQi relatig to the proposed reclassificatio of Level 5 ad Level 6 Descriptors. At a meetig with the QQi, the AWP expressed serious cocers relatig to the proposal to classify Level 5 ad 6 Descriptors as 'Occupatioal' compared to the Levels 7 to 9 which are classified as 'Professioal'. The AWP argued that the classificatio of 'Professioal' should apply to both Level 5 ad 6 as this would ehace progressio routes ad provide equity of recogitio. The AWP positio was ackowledged. The QQi have sice classified Level 5 ad 6 Descriptors as 'Professioal'.
institute NeWs Work related stress i the istitute of techology sector The Colleges Advisory Coucil (CAC) idetified the eed to carry out a study of work related stress (WrS) i the third level sector. The CAC cosidered that members i third level were experiecig icreased levels of WrS as a result of the productivity measures cotaied i both the Public Service Agreemet 2010-2014 ad the subsequet haddigto road Agreemet 2014-2016. The Coucil was specifically cocered about the impact of the flex hours. The flex hours are two additioal hours lecturig per week give free of charge by members for the duratio of the agreemet. The purpose of the flex hours is to cater for additioal studet throughput. The use of the flex hours is at the discretio of istitute maagemet. Members have complaied that this productivity measure is completely disproportioate compared to other grades. The delivery of two additioal hours lecturig requires a additioal six hours to iclude subject/curriculum developmet, research, preparatio work ad the developmet of assessmet ad examiatios materials. The matter is further compouded by the icrease i studet umbers. Larger class sizes sigificatly icrease the workload of lecturers i terms of cotiuous assessmet of studets work, providig feedback to studets, advisig studets o their studies ad pastoral support to studets. Members have also stated that WrS was becomig a health ad safety issue. i order to assess the extet of WrS, the uio carried out a atioal survey of members i the istitute of techology sector. The survey istrumet was developed from the health ad Safety executive (UK) Maagemet Stadards Toolkit for measurig WrS. The survey also cotaied a sectio o factors specific to the irish third level system. The survey was carried out i December 2014. The respose rate was 30% (=1,126). The full fidigs of the aalysed survey will be available i February 2015 ad will be reported to the Departmet of educatio ad Skills ad istitutes of techology. The uio will egage with the sector with a view to gettig employers to put strategies i place to reduce the damagig effects of WrS. A prelimiary descriptive aalysis of five third level items is preseted i the table below. From this data it is evidet that a sigificat percetage of respodets have idicated that they are experiecig high levels of WrS. respodets idicated the flex hours are causig high levels of WrS with 38% idicatig Very high ad 24% high compared to 10% Very Low ad 12% Low. The icrease i the umber of studets also scored high o the WrS level with respodets idicatig 33% Very high ad 28% high. Cosultatio o chage seemed to cause sigificatly high levels of WrS with respodet s idicatio 37% Very high ad 24% high. Similarly, cotributio to decisio makig also registered high levels of WrS at 31% Very high ad 23% high. Fially, the lack of fudig to the sector is a cause of WrS with 32% idicatig Very high ad 27% statig high. These are just prelimiary headlie figures. The full report will be prepared for the ext meetig of the Colleges Advisory Coucil. Further work o gatherig data o WrS o all sectors of the uio will commece i the ear future. The uio is cosiderig the best mechaism to begi a campaig agaist WrS ad particularly excessive workloads. www.tui.ie - TUi NeWS 7
institute NeWs to be or ot to be a techological uiversity? Ucertaity relatig to the techological uiversity proposals cotiues. The TUi previously (April 2014) raised cocers at the Joit Committee o educatio ad Social Protectio relatig to the Techological Uiversity Bill. The uio highlighted a umber of issues icludig the lack of cosultatio ad egagemet, the maiteace of security of teure, protectio of academic freedom, the cotiued remit to regioal provisio ad access ad the lack of provisio withi the Bill to the trasfer of udertakigs. The uio also iformed the Miister ad the Departmet of educatio ad Skills i May 2014 of the results of a survey of third level members relatig to techological uiversities. The survey had a 30% respose rate (=1,107). Members uease with the proposal for techological uiversities was demostrated by 51% idicatig disagreemet (29% idicatig agreemet) with the statemet: The istitute i work i should legally merge with aother iot(s) ad apply for Techological Uiversity status. The uio otified each istitute of the cocers members were reportig relatig to lack of iformatio ad cosultatio. The uio wared that the approach adopted by the hea ad maagemets would lead to predictable outcomes, icludig lack of commitmet, lack of co-operatio ad eve idustrial urest. To date, most of the uio s predictios have emerged. The South east Techology Uiversity (SeTU) proposal which cosisted of Carlow it ad Waterford it is i very public difficulty. The uio lodged a dispute with the Labour relatios Commissio relatig to a lack of cosultatio. The Miister the appoited a cosultat to egage with maagemet, staff ad studets i the two istitutes with a view to regeeratig the SeTU project. The two braches have agreed a joit positio ad ited to proactively pursue it. BrANCh OFFiCerS PiCTUreS BeFOre The LAST MTU MeeTiNG WiTh The TWO institutes. BACK row: (L-r) GiLLiAN QUiNLAN (CiT), AiDAN KeNNY (ASSiSTANT GeNerAL SeCreTArY, TUi), JOAN CLeArY (it TrALee), JOe KehOe (CiT), JUNe O reilly (CiT), CYriL GAVAGhAN (it TrALee) FrONT row: ShANe O rourke (CiT), ANNe-MArie COUrTNeY (it TrALee), MAriA CULLiNANe (CiT), UrSALA BArreTT (it TrALee) The two braches i the Muster Techological Uiversity (MTU) project, Cork it ad Tralee it, have egaged i direct discussios with the istitutes durig 2014. Although the MTU stage 3 submissio received a coditioal approval from the iteratioal Pael s report, the two braches have issued a agreed statemet of o cofidece i the process to date, i the recommedatios of the iteratioal Pael s report ad the hea approach. The Miister s lack of fudig for the sector is also a cause for grave cocer. The braches oted that if their cocers are ot addressed, they will commece ballotig members for idustrial actio. The three braches ivolved i the Dubli Techological Uiversity (DTU) (Dubli it, Tallaght it ad Blachardstow it) have egaged i a discussio process facilitated by the Labour relatios Commissio. The DTU stage 3 applicatio was approved by the iteratioal Pael, with coditios. The braches are curretly i exploratory discussio i relatio to thematic areas. The Coacht Ulster Alliace (CUA) which icludes Galway/Mayo it, Sligo it ad Doegal it, has idicated that it iteds to process a joit positio with a view to evetually workig towards a techological uiversity applicatio. The remaiig istitutes (Du Laoghaire, Dudalk, Limerick ad Athloe) have ot put forward merger proposals. The uio is ot opposed to the cocept of techological uiversities but is uimpressed by the ratioale ad the model curretly o offer. The TUi is willig to work towards the developmet of a more iclusive coceptualisatio of techological uiversities. TUi demads full cosultatio, a assurace of the maiteace of existig coditios of service icludig employmet coditios, remueratio, ad pesio rights. The uio expects collective agreemets to be fully respected. i cases where the established idustrial relatios procedures ad mechaisms are ot followed, TUi will respod i a assertive ad purposeful maer. The uio is opposed to forced mergers of istitutes. Mergers could be avoided if a structure similar to the Natioal Uiversity of irelad was put i place for the techological uiversity sector. 8 February 2015 - TUi NeWS
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Posts of resposibility a overview Posts of resposibility eable the pastoral, curricular ad admiistrative eeds of a school to be met. Sice the impositio of the moratorium o recruitmet ad promotio i 2009, the umber of post holders has bee radically reduced i most schools. The effect of the moratorium has varied i accordace with school profile. May schools have see a severe loss of both special duties ad assistat pricipal posts, while others have lost relatively few posts. The TUi cotiues to demad that the moratorium should be immediately lifted as it severely udermies the educatioal experiece of studets ad restricts career opportuities for teachers ad the capacity of schools to provide ecessary supports (such as a year head structure). Number of assistat Pricipal Posts i a school A limited alleviatio to the moratorium i respect of assistat pricipal positios was itroduced i 2011 before beig temporarily withdraw. it was reitroduced uder the terms of the haddigto road Agreemet. Over recet moths, schools have bee fillig positios at assistat pricipal level up to the followig threshold provided for uder the alleviatio circular (CL 4/2014). Pupil No. of ap posts erolmet which ca be filled as per alleviatio <100 0 100-199 1 200-299 2 300-399 3 400-499 4 500-599 5 700-899 6 900-1099 7 >1,100 8 Programme co-ordiator The alleviatio allows for the fillig of programme co-ordiator posts at assistat pricipal level if: (i) a school has 100 or more studets i programmes such as TY, LCVP or LCA ad (ii) the school s overall umber of assistat pricipal posts is at or below the thresholds show i the table. Schools that meet both of these requiremets may fill a programme co-ordiator vacacy at assistat pricipal level. appoitmets to posts of resposibility The appoitmet procedures, commo to all sectors, are set out i Circular Letter 0042/2010. The procedures provide for the use of the pre-existig criteria i respect of some posts ad revised criteria i respect of others. The circular also provides for the phasig i of the revised procedures. it should be oted that the revised procedures will apply to all posts from September 2015. Util the, (that is, i the curret school year 2014/15), half the posts are to be filled uder the pre-existig arragemet ad half are filled uder the revised arragemet. The first post appoited durig the period, (i.e. sice 2012/2013) should be uder the pre-existig arragemet ad the ext uder the revised arragemet alteratig util September 2015. 10 February 2015 - TUi NeWS
All iterviews, o matter which markig scheme is used, are carried out accordig to the system set out i Circular Letter 0042/2010. Uder the revised arragemet, 20 out of 100 marks are awarded to the most seior cadidate ad the each other cadidate, depedig o service, is placed i the appropriate quartile ad awarded 15, 10 or 5 marks. The other four criteria are the marked at iterview out of 20 marks per criterio. Uder the pre-existig markig scheme, the most seior cadidate is awarded 30 marks ad all the other cadidates are awarded marks pro-rata, based o service. The four other criteria are the marked at iterview out of 17.5 marks per criterio. appeals to the appoitmet to a post of resposibility A commo appeal process has bee established across all sectors. Nie grouds for appeal are set out. Use of the appeals process should test that the correct procedures have bee adhered to i terms of advertisig the post, iterviewig for the post ad appoitig the successful cadidate to the vacat post. The appeals process ad copies of the relevat appeals form should be made available to all usuccessful cadidates upo otificatio of the results of the appoitmet process. There is a stadard form for outliig the ratioale for the appeal which must be received by the etb/board of maagemet/school maager withi seve school days of receipt of the otificatio of the outcome of the appoitmet process. The appeal is heard by a idepedet appeal board cosistig of a omiee of the appellat s trade uio, a omiee of the relevat maagemet body ad a agreed idepedet chairperso. There are strict timelies applied to the appeals process ad these are outlied i a appedix to the circular letter. TUi will advise o the procedure but the appellat must complete the appeal documets themselves. temporary Posts Ay temporary posts that arise will be filled based o the revised arragemets i circular letter 0042/2010. if, o the basis of iterview, a pael is created to fill subsequet vacat temporary posts that arise, the this must be agreed with teachig staff. schedule of posts Uder circular letter all schools must have a schedule of posts that is available to staff members. The schedule comprises two lists. Oe is of the existig post-holders, the grade of the post ad the duties held ad the other is a list of additioal duties/resposibilities ot curretly discharged which would be assiged to ew appoitees to posts of resposibility. That list should be based o the agreed eeds of the school. The teachig staff must be cosulted i a meaigful way whe assessig the eeds of the school ad drawig up the schedule of posts or if it is beig reviewed ad revised. The duties attached to the posts of assistat pricipal ad special duties teachers should have a resposibility ad workload commesurate with the type of post ad allowace paid for carryig out the duties. Oce the schedule of posts is agreed by the staff ad maagemet it must be ratified by the school s board of maagemet. review of post duties Circular letters allow that a review of post duties may periodically take place. Uder such a review, duties carried out by a post-holder who has retired or bee promoted to a differet grade may be reassiged, but oly to other postholders. however, where this occurs other duties must be dropped by the school. Uder directive, TUi members must ot udertake o a upaid, opesioable basis, ay duty that was previously udertake by a post-holder or that is o the schedule referred to above. The total duties of a post-holder followig a review should be o more oerous tha the previous set of duties discharged by that post-holder. Whe a schedule is beig draw up or a review is takig place, there should be Ope ad trasparet cosultatio with all teachig staff real participatio by teachers Cosesus amog staff iclusive defiitio of posts equity i the divisio of duties ad workload TUi cotiues to demad the liftig of the moratorium as the loss of posts of resposibility is udermiig the operatio of schools ad career opportuities for all teachers. tui directive o posts of resposibility Members are remided of the uio s directive o posts of resposibility. With effect from August 2014 all members are directed that: Where a post of resposibility (POR) is vacat, or post duties arise for ay reaso, ad where: (i) the post/duties are ot filled, as a result of the moratorium, by the appoitmet of a teacher to a POR i accordace with the ormal appoitmet procedure ad (ii) a teacher is ot paid the appropriate POR allowace i accordace with ormal procedures ad ot give the appropriate time remissio appropriate to the post The the duties of the post vacated will o loger be carried out by ay staff member uder ay circumstaces. Duties will ot be carried out: By a u-promoted teacher or a special duties teacher gettig a timetabled remissio i order to carry out fuctios previously held by a assistat pricipal. By a u-promoted teacher gettig a timetabled remissio to carry out duties carried out by a assistat pricipal or a special duties teacher. By ay teacher carryig out the duties i questio i receipt of paymet other tha appropriate paymet for the post i questio. By ay teacher carryig out the duties i questio outside of havig a recogised post of resposibility All members, icludig pricipal teachers, deputy pricipal teachers ad post-holders are directed ot to egage i, facilitate or orgaise ay breach of this directive. www.tui.ie - TUi NeWS 11
Youg scietist exhibitio 2015 a resoudig success The Youg Scietist exhibitio agai demostrated the excitig work happeig i irish schools, ad the evet is a uforgettable experiece for the studets who take part. The exhibitio itself is the fial stage i the competitio which is ope to all secod level studets from irelad, both North ad South. As well as the 550 studet projects o display, there were a further four exhibitio halls filled with sciece ad techology based exhibits ad etertaimet, makig it a thrillig evet for those who eter ad for geeral visitors too. Visitig the 51st exhibitio, TUi presidet Gerry Qui praised the igeuity ad dedicatio of the studets ad teachers who took part. A example of some of the projects are set out below. teacher tom dixo ad studet aislig doherty, Mayooth Post-Primary school, co Kildare This project examied the hygiee hypothesis which suggests that exposure to microbes may lead to reduced allergies. The fidigs did ot support this area of the hygiee hypothesis i.e. there was ot much differece i susceptibility to allergies betwee those exposed to microbes from aimals ad those who were ot exposed. teacher Michael Lyos (chair Logford brach) ad studet Matt Lyos, Laesboro commuity college, co Logford pictured with tui Presidet Gerry Qui This project examied the impact of the applicatio of the 2.50 GMS fee to prescriptios. The project studied whether the fee stopped patiets from takig their medicatio. The study foud that the umber of medicatios ot take by patiets from the pharmacy skyrocketed i the moths immediately after the impositio of the fee. The umber affected had quadrupled twelve moths later. The diseases most affected were asthma, heart disease ad blood pressure. Similar fidigs emerged from research coducted by the World health Orgaisatio i the USA. The study foud a pey wise but poud foolish pheomeo i that a 43m savig o drugs was foud i the short-term but that hospital admissios for heart disease rose 6% as a result. ruaidhrí Keedy, ardgilla commuity college, Balbrigga, co dubli explais his fidigs to tui Presidet Gerry Qui This was a examiatio of the atural degradatio of fruit to ascertai whether there was a optimal time for the prevetio of decay. The study has sigificat implicatios for people sufferig from diabetes as it foud that sigificat chages happe to fruit left at room temperature. These chages iclude a rise i glucose, a fall i ph ad a rise i acidity. No such chage or decay happes over a five day period i fruit stored i a fridge. ruaidhrí s teacher is Teresa Gao (ot pictured). 12 February 2015 - TUi NeWS
This project examied the type of exercise which has the greatest effect o metal health. Three hudred studets took part i the project. The first phase was a basic fitess test for all studets who were the grouped by fitess level. each group took a differet activity ad their mood was measured after each activity. The study foud that mood improved after activity ad that studets with the highest fitess levels ejoyed the most hard-hittig exercises most. Group exercises were foud to be the most beeficial. teacher Leae Moore ad studets aoife Woods (left) ad amy allard (right), Mulligar commuity college, co Westmeath The studets examied whether sphagum peat moss (SPM) could be used as a alterative to commercial flower foods such as the sachets ofte attached to buches of flowers purchased i a shop. SPM grows i large quatities i areas close to Mulligar. Whe flowers are cut they lose ph, their water source ad their food source. SPM is hydrophoic which meas that it ca hold up to te times its ow weight i water. The sachet of food provided by florists cotais 4% sucrose so the studets added 4% sucrose to SPM. Lillies were used for the tests ad those that were put i water survived 18 days. Lillies which had access to a commercial food source lasted 20. however, lillies which had access to SPM (supplemeted with sucrose) lasted 26 days ad did ot suffer from discoloratio of the stems ulike the others. tui Presidet Gerry Qui ad studets (from left to right) Maciek smyk, Meadbh Murphy ad Joh Naik ad teacher hele corbett, arklow commuity college, co Wicklow The studets were iterested i examiig positive psychology. For the moth of September they esured that all studets took six positive actios: Meditatio all studets participated i meditatig whilst listeig to Gregoria chat Gratitude jourals Positive posters ew oes were put up every week What i like about you statemets Midfuless workshops 72% of females ad 37% of males felt that this should be part of the curriculum radom acts of kidess four moths later studets are still carryig these out Studets ad teachers all got ivolved ad there was a oticeable reductio i stress prior to recet exams as a cosequece. teacher siead Mulcahy ad studets Kaitly Baxter (left) ad aidee doohoe (right), Ballymaho Vocatioal school, co Logford www.tui.ie - TUi NeWS 13
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Pregacy-related sick leave ad the 2014 Public service sick Leave scheme Circulars 0059/2014 (registered teachers), 0063/2014 (all staff i etbs, other tha Teachers ad SNAs) ad 0064/20014 (all staff i iots), which itroduced the ew sick leave scheme, did ot clearly address pregacyrelated illess which had occurred uder the previous sick leave scheme (i.e. the scheme that operated prior to 1 September 2014). earlier Circulars had provided for the full discoutig of pregacy-related illess leave. A umber of members who had take pregacy-related illess leave have bee i cotact with TUi Brach Officers, Area represetatives or head Office. Some are i a positio where sick leave limits uder the ew sick leave scheme have bee reached. As a result, they would be o Temporary rehabilitatio remueratio (Trr) or upaid leave i the evet of illess occurrig while they are waitig for periods of earlier sick leave (icludig pregacy-related leave) to be discouted through ormal look-back provisios. (The operatio of look-back periods of four years ad of oe year is 16 February 2015 - TUi NeWS set out o pages 12 ad 13 of the September 2014 editio (Vol. 37, No. 1) of the TUi News.) Together with the other teacher uios, TUi has, cosistetly ad over a cosiderable period of time, raised this matter through the Teachers Cociliatio Coucil ad the istitutes of Techology idustrial relatios Forum. i October 2014, a formal commuicatio was set to the Departmet of Public expediture & reform. This was subsequetly referred to the Attorey Geeral by that Departmet. As a result, the uios have ow bee advised of a arragemet to discout time which had bee spet o pregacy-related illess uder the previous sick leave scheme (i.e. prior to 1 September 2014). That arragemet is set out below ad is ow beig operated by the Departmet of educatio ad Skills. The arragemet is that discoutig applies at half- pay rate. however, the positio of the teacher uios was - ad remais - that discoutig should apply at full pay rate. We will cotiue to press for this ad will provide further updates as they are available. The curret positio is set out as follows: Peer review/peer observatio a remider of tui s positio O the 27th of March 2013, TUi Geeral Secretary Joh MacGabha issued a letter etitled Guidace to Members School Self-evaluatio to all members. This correspodece refereced TUi s positio o the issue of peer review ad observatio (for evaluatio or ispectio purposes) ad stated: Some members may be uder the misapprehesio that peer review, peer observatio or the ispectio/evaluatio of teachers are either required or allowed uder School Selfevaluatio. if such is the case, the members cocered should be ivited to cotact the uio for clarificatio.members are advised that the school selfevaluatio guidelies ad circular do ot provide for peer review, peer observatio or the ispectio/evaluatio of teachers by Pricipal teachers, Deputy Pricipal teachers or teachers. it has come to the attetio of TUi head office that the practice of peer observatio is beig ecouraged i some schools, i a variety of cotexts i.e. School Self-evaluatio, preparatio The iterim arragemet is beig itroduced for public servats who took sick leave due to a pregacy related illess ad exhausted their paid sick leave due to this illess. The iterim arragemet is: If a woma reaches the 4-year paid sick leave limit ad pregacy-related sick leave is listed as a absece o her 4- year sick leave record, the she will have access to additioal leave (i.e. for the equivalet amout of time spet o pregacy-related sick leave up to a maximum of 92 days) at half pay oly subject to the overall maximum limits. for Subject/Whole-School evaluatio ad uder the Teachig Coucil s Droichead pilot scheme. Please be advised that the TUi s positio regardig the practice of ay form of peer review ad observatio, irrespective of its purpose, is that o member of the TUi may be required or compelled (by maagemet, the ispectorate etc) to participate i the observatio of their colleagues or to have colleagues observe them. i the evet that peer observatio is beig itroduced or demaded i your school, please immediately advise your brach ad area represetative.
Vacacy o Ncca developmet group Juior cycle art From time to time vacacies arise o NCCA developmet groups. Participatio o NCCA committees does ot i ay way alter TUi policy regardig issues such as assessmet of ew courses, but participatio does provide a valuable opportuity for practisig teachers ad the omiatig teacher uios to ifluece developmets i curriculum ad syllabi. each teacher uio is usually ivited to omiate two represetatives to each developmet group. each represetative will be required to make thoughtful isights i the discussios of the relevat developmet group, withi the cotext of TUi policy. represetatives are required from time to time to discuss strategy, ad meet with, relevat officials from TUi head Office. represetatives may also be asked to act as exams spokespersos for TUi i the subjects relevat to their expertise. This ca ivolve givig cosidered feedback to the media ad exams Commissio, agai withi the cotext of TUi policy. Correspodece issued recetly to schools ad cetres settig out curret vacacy guidelies for omiees ad the omiatio form. if you are iterested i Pilot Volutary redeploymet scheme 2015 to operate i Muster becomig ivolved please cotact your local brach for their omiatio. Applicatios (marked NCCA developmet groups) should reach TUi head Office o later tha oo o March 6th, 2015. it is expected that applicats will be iformed of the outcome i mid to late March. it is recommeded by the NCCA that applicats ot serve o more tha oe subject developmet group. subject Juior Cycle Art 1 Number of Vacacies The pilot volutary redeploymet scheme established i 2013 is to cotiue i 2015. The scheme will operate i Muster i 2015 havig operated i the North West i 2013 ad i Coacht i 2014. The scheme, which was egotiated by TUi ad ASTi uder the Croke Park Agreemet, allows for teachers i schools ot i a surplus teacher situatio to trasfer o a volutary basis to aother school or geographical area. it is importat to ote that, while a teacher must be teachig i Muster to avail of the scheme, he/she may seek to be redeployed to ay part of the coutry. The pilot volutary redeploymet scheme 2015 is cofied to teachers employed i the Muster regio (i.e. Couties Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary, Waterford). it does ot apply i those schools that have teachers for compulsory redeploymet. The pilot volutary scheme will oly be used if it facilitates the compulsory redeploymet of a teacher from a surplus school. Permaet/CiD teachers employed i these schools may express a iterest i volutary redeploymet to aother school aywhere i the coutry. iterested teachers should complete form VOL-rD1 15-16 ad have it certified by the school pricipal ad the Chairperso of the Board of Maagemet (or the CeO i the case of etb schools). Pricipals should declare o Part e of form VOL rd1 15-16 the preferred subject optios that the school requires as a replacemet for the teacher if the applicatio for redeploymet is successful. These subject optios may be differet to the subjects curretly taught by the teacher applyig for volutary redeploymet. This may give Pricipals a opportuity to address a curriculum mismatch withi their school. The CeO/Chairperso must sig Part e of form VOL rd1 15-16 to idicate the school s approval to release the teacher i questio ad their agreemet to accept a replacemet teacher o redeploymet. Offers will issue to applicats where their redeploymet facilitates the compulsory redeploymet of a teacher from a surplus school. A applicatio form ca be dowloaded from the TUi website. www.tui.ie - TUi NeWS 17
Prestigious award for tui member inca, the irish Applied Mathematics Teachers' Associatio (iamta) ad the irish Mathematics Teachers' Associatio (imta). A graduate of Triity College Dubli, Victor W Graham (1914-1991) lectured i both the School of Mathematics at TCD ad i the Church of irelad Traiig College attached to the college. he was coferred with a hoorary Doctorate of Sciece by his alma mater i 1989. Dr. MAUriCe O'reiLLY (LeFT) OF The inca PreSeNTiNG SeáN CONNOLLY OF rathmines COLLeGe WiTh The ViCTOr W GrAhAM TrOPhY. Sea Coolly, oe of TUi s represetatives o the NCCA Applied Maths Developmet Group, was preseted with the Victor Graham Trophy at the 2014 Aual Coferece of the iamta (irish Applied Maths Teachers Associatio) held i NUiG o 29th November. Sea teaches i rathmies College i Dubli. The trophy was awarded by the istitute for Numerical Computatio ad Aalysis (inca) ad commemorates the life ad work of Victor W Graham. The trophy is awarded aually to a teacher ad the wier is selected by a committee composed of represetatives of the SeAMUS LAhArT, TUi AreA 4 representative, PreSeNTS rachel MCKeNNA WiTh A TUi SPONSOreD AWArD AT The UCD SChOOL OF education ANNUAL CONFerriNG. ALSO PiCTUreD is PrOFeSSOr DYMPNA DeViNe, head OF UCD SChOOL OF education. Maths couts - Learig ad Teachig Mathematics i Irish Post-Primary schools coferece for all post-primary teachers of Mathematics 2015 uiversity college dubli, Belfield, dubli 4 Friday 17th april: 18.00 22.00 registratio ad Keyote address by Geoffrey Wake, Associate Professor, Uiversity of Nottigham - School of educatio. Followed by receptio ad official opeig by a guest of hoour. saturday 18th april: 09.00-16.30 registratio followed by workshops & presetatios by teachers ad guest speakers. A coferece programme cotaiig further iformatio (icludig details of the registratio process) will be issued to all Post-Primary Schools shortly. For further iformatio, please cotact: Project Maths Developmet Team Drumcodra educatio Cetre Phoe: 01-8576422/8576428 email: graieh@ecdrumcodra.ie; racheld@ecdrumcodra.ie For more details about the coferece see www.projectmaths.ie?????????? Have you taught abroad? Are you a qualified teacher who taught overseas for a miimum of two years? Are you curretly teachig i Irelad for a miimum of oe year? If so, I would very much appreciate if you would complete a short survey as part of my doctoral research project which examies the experieces of repatriated Irish teachers. Please email me at M.NAGLE4@uigalway.ie by 23rd February 2015 18 February 2015 - TUi NeWS
equality the geder divide i seior academic posts i the istitutes of techology The higher educatio Authority (hea) recetly published a detailed breakdow of the geder divide of seior academic posts across publicly fuded higher educatio istitutios. The data shows that wome are uder-represeted i seior academic posts i irish istitutes of techology, uiversities ad colleges. While the overall academic staff divide i higher educatio is 50/50, males sigificatly outumber females i seior posts. The data demostrates that less tha oe third of seior academic posts i the coutry s seve uiversities ad 14 istitutes of techology are held by wome. The detailed data published by the hea comes just after a recet equality Tribual rulig which ordered NUi Galway to promote lecturer Dr Micheleie Sheehy Skeffigto after fidig that she was discrimiated agaist o geder grouds whe she was overlooked for a seior lectureship. The equality Tribual i fidig for Dr Sheehy Skeffigto ordered NUiG to pay her 70,000 ad review its appoitmets system. The data below demostrates a clear pyramid structure i terms of seior academic positios, with a cosiderably greater proportio of wome at the bottom of the seior maagemet structure tha at the top. TUi believes that greater co-operatio betwee istitutes o geder equality issues is eeded to esure that real progress is achieved i this area. The uio is committed to playig a active role i workig with the istitutes to promote good practice i the area. Geder ad academics i istitutes of techology (source: hea, 2014) AIT AIT ITB ITB ITC ITC CIT CIT DIT DIT DKIT DKIT IADT IADT GMIT GMIT Head Cout Head Cout Head Cout Head Cout Head Cout Head Cout Head Cout Head Cout % Male % Female % Male % Female % Male % Female % Male % Female % Male % Female % Male % Female % Male % Female % Male % Female Seior Lecturer 3 67% 33% 0% 0% 67% 33% 80% 20% 73% 27% 50% 50% 50% 50% 75% 25% Seior Lecturer 2 100% 0% 0% 0% 83% 17% 65% 35% 74% 26% 77% 23% 50% 50% 50% 50% Seior Lecturer 1 75% 25% 60% 40% 75% 25% 88% 12% 76% 24% 82% 18% 33% 67% 64% 36% Lecturer 2 75% 25% 0% 0% 75% 25% 100% 0% 75% 25% 83% 17% 50% 50% 67% 33% Lecturer 1 0% 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 100% 100% 0% 0% 100% 50% 50% 0% 0% Lecturer 54% 46% 77% 23% 53% 47% 60% 40% 61% 39% 56% 44% 52% 48% 52% 48% Proportio of Seior Academic Staff 87% 13% 60% 40% 77% 23% 75% 25% 74% 26% 75% 25% 45% 55% 61% 39% LYIT LIT ITS ITTD ITTra WIT All IoTs Head Cout Head Cout Head Cout Head Cout Head Cout Head Cout Head Cout % Male % Female % Male % Female % Male % Female % Male % Female % Male % Female % Male % Female % Male % Female Seior Lecturer 3 75% 25% 67% 33% 100% 0% 100% 0% 100% 0% 100% 0% 76% 24% Seior Lecturer 2 33% 67% 55% 45% 80% 20% 75% 25% 25% 75% 75% 25% 68% 32% Seior Lecturer 1 75% 25% 69% 31% 78% 22% 50% 50% 100% 0% 63% 38% 73% 27% Lecturer 2 50% 50% 89% 11% 67% 33% 67% 33% 0% 0% 77% 23% 75% 25% Lecturer 1 33% 67% 100% 0% 0% 0% 50% 50% 0% 100% 100% 0% 39% 61% Lecturer 51% 49% 61% 39% 56% 44% 60% 40% 46% 54% 49% 51% 56% 44% Proportio of Seior Academic Staff 53% 47% 64% 36% 82% 18% 67% 33% 50% 50% 78% 22% 71% 29% www.tui.ie - TUi NeWS 19
uio expresses cocers about three issues i draft teachig coucil regulatios Aspects of strategic pla also require further cosideratio i November 2014, TUi made a submissio to the Teachig Coucil followig a call for cosultatio o the proposed Teachig Coucil Strategic Pla 2015-2017 ad draft ew regulatios. The full text of the submissio is available o www.tui.ie ad the regulatios are available o www.teachigcoucil.ie. draft regulatios 2014 TUi expressed cocers about three issues i the draft regulatios. Firstly, TUi expressed cocer about the level of iformatio that may be published about registered teachers. The possibility of publishig such other iformatio as the Coucil deems appropriate from time to time appears to be uecessarily ope to creep over time. Secodly, TUi is cocered about issues arisig from the requiremet to re-register followig a log period of absece due to illess. Thirdly, TUi strogly supports the thrust of the regulatios i tryig to protect childre, the public, staff, public cofidece ad the upholdig of stadards. however, some further elucidatio of this issue may be beeficial i esurig that stadards ad protectios are maitaied without causig a homogeisatio of teachig ad the teachig professio. strategy 2015-2017 The submissio by TUi o the proposed Teachig Coucil Strategic Pla 2015-2017 looked primarily at the issue of CPD. This is especially importat i the cotext of the aoucemet by the Teachig Coucil at the FéiLTe evet of forthcomig madatory CPD. 20 February 2015 - TUi NeWS cpd The first difficulty relatig to madatory CPD is the issue of compulsio. TUi supports the developmet of the professio. The overwhelmig majority of teachers already participate i CPD. Such CPD ofte takes place i teachers ow time ad at their expese. There is rarely a fiacial beefit esuig. i fact, teachers who pursued graduate studies i special educatio, leadership etc o loger qualify for a salary allowace post-graduatio. Schools are rarely i a positio to subsidise the cost of CPD which teachers atted. Most CPD takes place at weekeds ad i the eveig. Teachers atted because of a willigess ad desire to provide the best service to their studets. The questio must be asked why CPD must ow become madatory ad what supports will be put i place to support teachers i participatig i further CPD. The secod issue relates to what costitutes CPD. CPD should have a agreed structure ad should have accreditatio/recogitio. however, it should ot become excessively academised. CPD should allow for elemets of collaboratio, equiry, dialogue, debate, reflectio ad activities that beefit the school commuity. Such CPD could be a Masters or Ph.D. programme i a higher educatio istitutio. however, it could also be a olie professioal commuity, a meetig at which importat issues i educatio are discussed, a coferece examiig educatio/teachig cocers, reflective work carried out by a idividual teacher or group of teachers, trade uio/solidarity work or a myriad other activities that meet a more iclusive defiitio of CPD. There is a eed to balace persoal ad professioal learig ad there is a dager of oly accreditig that which is quatifiable. Uder the ew Strategic Pla, will a quatum of hours of CPD be required ad what timeframe will apply for that quatum to be attaied? The timeframe must be realistic ad reasoable ad i that cotext a aual quatum seems ureasoably restrictive. Teachers should ot be out of pocket i pursuig CPD. Furthermore, CPD udertake i a 32- couty or a out-of-state locatio should also be permitted. Fitess to teach As well as CPD, a importat part of the proposed Strategic Pla is the issue of Fitess to Teach. A lot of discussio is required aroud esurig that Fitess to Teach iquiries ad fidigs are impartial, objective ad proportioate. TUi welcomes the statemet that where appropriate, issues should be resolved at school level. This will eable the Teachig Coucil to cocetrate o serious allegatios regardig Fitess to Teach. it does, however, raise a questio about the adequacy of procedures at school level. coclusio TUi is axious to esure that adequate supports are available to support the teachig professio. The Draft regulatios ad proposed Strategic Pla of the Teachig Coucil have a role to play i this but aspects of both documets require further cosideratio.
Wide-ragig issues i relatio to wireless etworks outlied tui NeWs i December 2014, TUi respoded to a request from the Departmet of educatio ad Skills for commetary o a proposed policy documet o wireless etworks i schools. The full submissio is available o the TUi website. Some key poits o a wide rage of issues ad cocers are set out below. Priorities must iclude: Buildig ad stregtheig teacher expertise ad competece. esurig adequate teacher ad studet access to essetial ifrastructure. Accessig, developig ad maagig software which will ivolve a mix of exteral agecies, teachers ad studets (relative to cotext). esurig safe access ad ethical, appropriate use of ict by teachers ad studets. Plaig for ad providig adequate techical support at local/school/classroom/idividual teacher level i a maer that guaratees appropriate ad timely support ad esures teachers are ot distracted from their core fuctio as facilitators of learig. Orgaisatio ad/or re-orgaisatio of learig spaces ad time i a maer that embraces, more fully, the potetial of ict to support ad ehace the teachig ad learig process. The essetial challeges are: esurig a miimum level of access to ad use of ict i all schools ad classrooms. This icludes accessig the right expertise, buildig capacity ad maitaiig ad developig that capacity o a o-goig basis. Capacity here icludes ifrastructural capacity, huma capacity (studet, teacher) ad resource capacity (teachig resources, techical support etc.) Keepig abreast with how ad what is evolvig i ict ad remaiig resposive to chages. The speed at which ew devices, mediums, packages are developed requires ogoig reewal ad developmet. This ifers o-goig high level ivestmet i ict very challegig i a time of budgetary costraits. Accessig adequate time, expertise ad resources to respod to ict developmets ad icorporate them i a timely maer ito teachig ad learig ad school life. Supportig studets to stay o task ad cotiue to maitai positive relatioships with other studets i a cotext of some orgaisatios pushig schools to develop brig your ow device mechaisms. Such BYOD policies may reduce some pressure o schools i terms of fiacig but create a iequitable structure i terms of families who ca ad families who caot afford devices. it also creates a security ad isurace headache for schools. For example, cyberbullyig could become a problem as schools do ot ow the device so caot istall iteret security software o the device. The documet seems to suggest that fudig will ot be available to schools for much of the essetial hardware. The documet also seems to suggest that much of the orderig, tederig, repair etc will be the resposibility of schools. This places a extraordiary burde o schools. The questio must be asked why much of this additioal workload could ot be doe by experts i the Departmet of educatio ad Skills. Fairess meas meaigful access to ict for all schools ad studets ad a level of ivestmet that: esures all schools have a miimum level of ict ifrastructure, hardware, equipmet ad devices, relevat software ad materials at wholeschool, classroom, teacher ad studet level. provides, as ecessary, for additioal grats to schools to reach ad/or maitai a miimum level i respect of the poit above; such grats must be reewable give the pace at which ict is evolvig. supports appropriate, o-goig access for teachers to up-skillig ad developmet o evolvig ict mediums ad materials. www.tui.ie - TUi NeWS 21
makes provisio for fiacial icetives ad supports to esure teachers ad studets ad their families ca purchase ad maitai the ecessary equipmet, devices ad materials. makes adequate ad meaigful provisio for access to techical expertise ad support for schools ad teachers. eables schools to put i place a co-ordiator (more tha oe i a large school) to drive ad sustai developmet. esures access to high speed broadbad is cosistet across the school. esures the router base must be capable of dealig with the maximum level of activity at ay give time. Wireless systems will be critical to supportig geeral egagemet with ict throughout schools, buildig geeral capacity ad promotig the use of flexible learig hubs or spaces, group based activity ad idepedet study. Coectivity to a wireless etwork throughout a school (each classroom, the library ad geeral areas etc.) will be essetial to eablig effective itegratio ad use of ict i teachig i learig across the curriculum. Access to devices ad equipmet that support teachig ad learig operates at a umber of levels: the school level i.e. what should be available is some ad all classrooms ad other learig areas the teacher level i.e. what is appropriate for idividual subject teachers ad for all teachers the studet level i.e. what devices ad resources are appropriate ad ecessary depedig o age, level, subject area etc. The maagemet, review ad upgradig of systems, devices ad equipmet ca add further layers of complexity to dayto-day operatio i schools. Particular areas of cocer iclude: Storage of data ad security - Cloud is ow commoly advaced as a solutio to the effective maagemet of these issues but much has to be explored ad tested i this regard. expert advice - School maagemet ad staff eed access to expert advice o a wide umber of issues icludig balacig fiacial maagemet with good decisios about educatioal eeds ad day-to-day operatio. Techical support School staff will also eed access to appropriate techical support ad iteral coordiatio to esure effective developmet ad smooth operatio o a daily basis. survey shows dissatisfactio with Juior cycle eglish cpd TUi would like to thak all members who spet time fillig i the olie survey o their experieces of the first roud of cotiuig professioal developmet (CPD) for the ew Juior Cycle eglish programme. The survey was carried out i September ad October 2014 ad almost oe hudred resposes were received. The results are as follows: Questio oe: Please rate your level of satisfactio with the first professioal developmet sessio provided for the ew Juior Cycle Eglish programme. 59% of respodets were ot at all satisfied. 30% were slightly or moderately satisfied. Questio two: Please rate your level of satisfactio with the geeral maer i which the professioal developmet sessio was orgaised ad delivered. 41% were ot at all satisfied, 15% were slightly satisfied ad 28% were moderately satisfied. Questio three: How would you rate the sessio i terms of: Capacity to deal with the cocers raised durig the course of the sessio 76% ot at all satisfied Opeess to discussig teachers cocers regardig the ew Eglish specificatio 48% ot at all satisfied ad 27% slightly satisfied Effective delivery of iformatio ad resources There was a reasoably eve spread from ot at all satisfied to very satisfied Use of delivery approaches which were iclusive of curret teacher experiece ad expertise Agai, there was a reasoably eve spread from ot at all satisfied to very satisfied Providig adequate detail ad iformatio to pla for implemetatio from September 2014 61% ot at all satisfied ad 30% slightly satisfied Access to useful tools ad resources to support implemetatio from September 2014 48% ot at all satisfied ad 25% slightly satisfied Provisio of clarity o how the collectio of work will be orgaised ad maaged 76% ot at all satisfied it is clear from the above fidigs that the staff deliverig CPD are doig their best ad that their efforts are recogised by teachers. however, much cofusio ad frustratio remais for teachers of eglish. Like all teachers, they have grave cocers about may aspects of the Juior Cycle Framework proposals. Their experiece of CPD i 2013-2014 seems to have oly heighteed these cocers further. 22 February 2015 - TUi NeWS
aroud the world Frace turs to educatio i a effort to stregthe commo values i respose to the attacks that pluged Frace ito mourig ad reflectio, the coutry s educatio miister met with educatio uios, as well as parets ad studets, to idetify the best ways of re-establishig shared values. i the days followig the attacks, teachers foud it difficult to raise the evets, ad social issues surroudig them, i their classrooms. i some cases, attempts to spark discussio were met with resistace ad ager, while the refusal of some studets to mark a momet of silece for the victims has give rise to questios of values across Frace. To tackle what may have viewed as a coutrywide cultural divide, Frech Miister of educatio Najat Vallaud-Belkacem assembled the coutry s educatio uios o Jauary 12th to cosult them o the state of values i Frace. Ms. Vallaud-Belkacem stressed that she uderstood the difficulty teachers faced i maagig emotios i the face of the uspeakable, ad called o educatio officers to mobilise to respod to the eeds of educatio staff. The miister also made olie teachig tools available to be used to reflect ad debate with studets, ad to orgaise workshops, with assistace, o the freedom of the press ad freedom of expressio. unsa-educatio: promote freedom of speech Lauret escure, Geeral Secretary of UNSAeducatio ad a member of educatio iteratioal s (ei) executive Board, said that combatig tragic evets of this kid was the resposibility of us all. escure emphasised that it is vital to liberate speech, ad that all childre should kow ad uderstad that the schools of [Frace] are ope to them. he reiterated that the aim of the educatio system was to create resposible, idepedet citizes, capable of critical thikig, capable of livig i complete tolerace, because the freedom of cosciece ad the freedom to believe or ot believe is a absolute right that uderpis Frech society. Accordig to UNSA educatio, it is essetial to take actio i specific schools by providig assistace to teachers who eed guidace i delvig ito the subject. Over the log-term, the trade uio suggests settig up a iformatio base, with resources accessible olie, ad usig specific opportuities such as Press Week, to explai ad reassert Frech values, the validity of co-existece ad of democracy. tees are twice as likely to be out of school as primary school-age childre A ew report by UNeSCO ad UNiCeF reveals that busiess as usual i educatio policies is the mai obstacle i the way of realisig uiversal primary ad secodary educatio, especially whe it comes to teeagers. Aroud 63 millio adolescets betwee the ages of 12 ad 15 are deied their right to a educatio, accordig to a ew joit report from the UNeSCO istitute for Statistics ad UNiCeF, Fixig the Broke Promise of educatio for All Fidigs from the Global iitiative o Out-of- School Childre. This figure is strikigly similar to the umber of out-of-school primaryage childre (58 millio) eve though there are half as may lower secodary-age childre worldwide. This meas that 12-to-15-year-olds are almost twice as likely to be out of school as their youger couterparts (17 percet compared to ie percet). The extesive report shows that as childre get older the risk that they will ever start school or evetually drop out etirely icreases. The report calls for actio to ivest i better data ad demostrates that reachig the most margialised may cost more, but that better statistics ad iovative tools ca help govermets ad doors to sped their educatio budgets more wisely. uk: educatio suffers as graduates shu teachig for higher payig jobs The report by icomes Data Services (ids) o teacher salaries at differet career poits shows that sice 2010 the pay gap betwee teachig ad other professios has wideed. The 2013 average startig salary for graduates amog major recruiters was early 20% higher tha the atioal startig poit for a qualified teacher, ad the lead over teachers i terms of average salary after three years is as high as 44%. After five years the graduate lead o average salaries is a shockig 73%. The disturbig figures, which come o top of chages to pay progressio, mea teachig is becomig a less attractive professio. eve fewer graduates of shortage STeM (sciece, techology, egieerig, ad mathematics)subjects such as maths, chemistry ad physics are likely to be recruited to teach those subjects as a result of the pay gap. Accordig to Chris Keates, the Natioal Associatio of Schoolmasters Uio of Wome Teachers (NASUWT) Geeral Secretary, teachig has moved from beig the umber oe choice for graduates i 2010 to oe ow where graduates are icreasigly lookig to other higher paid professios. There is already a recruitmet ad retetio crisis i the educatio Service. The stark differeces i graduate pay highlighted i our research will ufortuately mea this crisis will worse. 23
tui i the media GerrY QUiNN DeBATeS JUNiOr CYCLe issues WiTh MiNiSTer JAN O SULLiVAN. ireland AM, 22/1/15 The secod strike day o Jauary 22d received widespread coverage. O the eve of the evet, Gerry Qui previewed the strike o rte s Morig irelad ad Drivetime programmes. O the morig of the strike he debated the issues with Miister O Sulliva o TV3 s irelad AM programme, with a poll suggestig that 83% of the public backed the strike actio. At all times teachers commitmet to protectig the educatio system was stated. he discussed the strike o Newstalk s Pat Key Show ad was iterviewed o rte, TV3 ad UTV ews bulletis later that day. O rte s Morig irelad programme, TUi members picketig outside Mayooth Post Primary School explaied the reasos behid their actios while teachers at Mayfield Commuity School discussed the strike o rte s News At Oe. Speakig o rte s Six Oe ews o December 8th, TUi s educatio & research Officer David Duffy cautioed that comparisos betwee the irish ad Fiish educatio systems must take accout of Filad s greater fiacial ivestmet i educatio ad lower pupil-teacher ratio. There was blaket coverage of the December 2d strike over Juior Cycle cocers. The media were ivited to the picket at rosmii Commuity School, where the geeral secretaries, presidets ad members of both uios were made 24 February 2015 - TUi NeWS available for iterview. Picket lies all over the coutry were also visited by regioal media. rte s Six Oe ad Nie ews bulletis featured iterviews with TUi Presidet Gerry Qui, Vice Presidet Joae irwi ad various teachers o picket lies aroud the coutry. Gerry Qui was iterviewed by several radio statios ad programmes o the day, icludig Today FM s Last Word ad rte s Drivetime. The strike was covered extesively i the atioal ad regioal prit media. The TUi Presidet was iterviewed the day before the December 2d strike o TV3 News, ad Geeral Secretary Joh MacGabha formed part of a pael o that eveig s rte Prime Time programme to debate Juior Cycle issues. A letter to the editors of atioal ad local ewspapers from the Presidets of the two uios outlied that a solutio exists which meets the eed for improvemet of the Juior Cycle, but which protects educatio stadards, is studet-cetred, ad which does ot udermie the itegrity of our State exams system. Gerry Qui discussed the reasos behid the strike o Newstalk s Luchtime programme o November 25th. This was followed by a spot o the same statio s Breakfast programme o November 28th i which the reasos why teachers are opposed to markig their ow studets was outlied, ad a further iterview o rte s Drivetime followed later that afteroo. A opiio editorial by Gerry Qui outliig the potetial for damage i the ew proposals was published i the irish idepedet o Saturday November 29th Gerry Qui formed part of a pael o rte radio s Saturday With Bria Dowlig o November 15th, where he debated Juior Cycle issues with Miister Ja O Sulliva. Past Presidet Gerard Craughwell was part of the pael o rte s Maria Fiucae show the followig day that also discussed the same matter. GerrY QUiNN explains WhY TeACherS Are TAKiNG STriKe ACTiON ON rte S Six ONe NeWS, 14/11/14
Followig joit TUi ad ASTi meetigs i Athloe o November 14th, TUi Presidet Gerry Qui was iterviewed by rte, TV3, Newstalk, Today FM ad various regioal ews bulletis about the decisio take to strike over Juior Cycle issues. The Presidet was also iterviewed live o rte s Drivetime ad live o the Six Oe News from rte s Athloe studio. All atioal ewspapers covered the decisio to strike the ext day. Gerry Qui ad ASTi Presidet Philip irwi were iterviewed o rte s Nie News over the Juior Cycle impasse o November 11th. The positio of the two uios was carried across the prit media the followig day ad Gerry Qui was iterviewed o rte s Morig irelad programme. Joh MacGabha also discussed Juior Cycle issues o Newstalk s Breakfast programme o November 12th. JOhN MACGABhANN OUTLiNeS The CONCerNS OF TeACherS OVer JUNiOr CYCLe ON rte S PriMe TiMe 1/12/14 respodig to staff cocers over a DiT employee egagemet survey, a letter from Gerry Qui i the irish Times o November 11th stated that it was somewhat iroic that the first staff heard about the results was through the atioal media ad is completely uacceptable that the respose from the istitute s Presidet is that the worryig fidigs are merely a case of staff gettig thigs off their chest rather tha beig idicative of deeper systemic problems i terms of commuicatio ad cosultatio.' i the irish Times o October 30th, the TUi said it was ot opposed to the cocept of Techological Uiversities, but that we remai deeply sceptical about the requiremet that istitutes of Techology must merge before they ca apply for Techological Uiversity status. We believe that this requiremet to merge is more related to ratioalisatio of the istitutes withi the sector tha to academic cosideratios based o istitute missios, values ad ethos. UCD School of Educatio Scoil a Oideachais UCD Higher. Better. Further. PROFESSIONAL DIPLOMA MASTERS DOCTORAL Prof. Dip i Ed Studies (PDES) O-lie Leadership Diploma Grad. Dip SEN Prof. Master Ed. (PME) M.A i Educatio M.Ed M.Ed SEN O-lie M.Ed (Leadership) MSc Childre/Youth PhD i Educatio PhD Childre/Youth Studies Prof. Doctorate Ed Psych For further iformatio o course requiremets ad closig dates for applicatios, please visit our website www.ucd.ie/educatio. Cotact the school office at: School of Educatio, Roebuck Offices, Uiversity College Dubli, Belfield, Dubli 4. Tel: +353-1-716-7945 /7967/ 7968 Email: educatio@ucd.ie www.tui.ie - TUi NeWS 25
TUI PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME PRE-RETIREMENT SEMINAR DATE VENUE Friday, Bloomfield House Hotel, 24th April, 2015 Mulligar, 9.00-16.30 Co. Westmeath Places are limited ad will be allocated o a first-come first-served basis. Please esure you complete this form i full ad retur to the address below. Alteratively, you may email the completed Applicatio Form for the attetio of Liz Daly/Carol rya to: receptio@tui.ie Name APPLICATION FORM School/College Telephoe Number Email Address APPLICATIONS WILL ONLY BE ACCEPTED ON OFFICIAL FORM TUi, 73 Orwell road, rathgar, Dubli 6 Telephoe: (01) 4922588 (Press 0) Fax: (01) 4922953 26 February 2015 - TUi NeWS
rma News This is my last cotributio to TUi News as i am retirig from the job as Secretary of the rma at the ed of Jauary. i have really ejoyed my stit over the last te years. i have made may frieds ad had some great experieces. You all remember the momet whe you decided to retire from teachig. it is amazig how for most of oe s career oe ever cosiders the ievitable ed of that career yet whe the momet comes it is clear ad fial. For me it came as i felt the loss of eergy to complete the teachig day. it was somethig that i had ever cosidered before. i loved teachig ad i ejoyed the challege. however, whe i ackowledged my positio i was quite happy to retire ad looked forward to a ew phase i my life. i will ot discuss here what the momet was for my preset decisio. The great thig about retiremet is the freedom it gives. You have fiished your career ad you do t have to prove aythig to ayoe. You have the freedom to make choices that you did ot have whe you were teachig. You also have the time ad, dare i say it, the resources. We had a woderful autum break i the Four Seasos hotel i Carligford. Over sixty of us gathered for the three day break. The weather was magificet. ideed, the weather for these outigs follows a patter that could be compared to Old Moore s Almaac. it was the begiig of November ad we had beautiful sushie for the three days we were there. The day we left the weather broke ad it lashed rai. The hotel treated us very well too. The service, the food ad the friedliess were all excellet ad the rate for our stay was oe of the best we ever had. Our members really ejoyed it, the atmosphere was really friedly it was like oe happy family. We wet to Belfast o oe of our outigs. Some wet shoppig but most of us wet to the Titaic Cetre. This is a most impressive experiece. it was my secod visit, ad i thik you eed more tha oe visit to appreciate the depth ad extet of the experiece. Our coach driver brought us o a tour of the Shakill ad Falls roads ad it was very sad to see the very high dividig wall still very much i place despite all the progress made. O the secod day some wet to the Outlet i rma MeMBerS PiCTUreD AT The AUTUMN BreAK Bambridge (ot a patch o the Kildare oe) followed by a tour of Newry. Others wet o a trip through the Moure Moutais to Newcastle, ad with the weather we had this was a beautiful experiece. The rma cotiues to grow. The umber of braches is icreasig ad may held a social evet for Christmas. i atteded oe i Kildare which was a great success. The Alliace cotiues its campaig to restore the deductios i our pesios ad the aomalies that apply to the public service. it was decided at the last meetig to write to all members of the Govermet ad Dáil ad Seate members. This is part of our lobby process which will soo ivolve each member beig required to approach their local Dáil ad Seate represetatives ad all local govermet public represetatives. We must iform all those about the situatio we are i regardig our pesios ad the cotributio we have made towards rectifyig the fiacial situatio i the coutry i the last five years. We must cotiue to iform the public that we paid for our pesios all our teachig lives ad that we are etitled to the restoratio as a matter of urgecy. Servig members have may years to make up the loss but we have less time. Before Christmas we had received over forty replies to our letter from TDs ad Seators ad sice the we have received aother twety. They are comig i dribs ad drabs. Some just ackowledge receipt of the letter, while others discuss the merits of our case ad agree. Others agai have cotacted either the Miister for the Public expediture ad reform, Breda howli or the Miister for Fiace, Michael Nooa. Seamus healy put a Dáil questio to Breda howli askig whe he would give Statutory Negotiatig rights to the Alliace. The private secretary of Joa Burto thought that we had set the letter to the wrog departmet ad she was goig to rectify it!!! Micheál Marti said that he would meet us with other spokespersos to discuss the situatio. however, whe i metioed this to aother member of the Alliace he said that he had received a similar letter a year ago ad despite may letters ad phoe calls they have ot met yet. Yet the exercise was well worth it ad we will follow it up with further, more persoal lobbyig. As regards your ow persoal cotributio toward this task, a leaflet is beig prepared for you that will state our case ad idicate what we expect from the public represetatives. Make o mistake - this is a fight. We are ot goig to receive a restoratio of our pesio without makig a good case to each ad every public represetative. remember - the farmers are our model i this lobbyig exercise. They are ot lyig dow. Slá. Christy Coville. www.tui.ie - TUi NeWS 27
Oly oe etry per member. Photocopies ca be submitted. Name Workplace Address Cotact umber TUi Brach Sed etries to TUi Crossword February 15, TUi, 73 Orwell rd, rathgar, Dubli 6 Closig date for etries: 13th March 2015 Cogratulatios to BRENDAN O MALLEy, O FIAICH COLLEGE, DUNDALk wier of Vol 37 No 3 Crossword Competitio crossword 250 prize for the first correct aswer draw from the etries 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 23 24 25 26 27 28 22 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 29 across 1 Wier of Best Drama Motio Picture at the 2015 Golde Globes (7) 4 Suggestive of or characterized by expediecy, deceit, ad cuig: derived from the ame of a Floretie writer/politicia (13) 11 A group of moutaious islads off the orthwest coast of Africa, formig Spaish provices (6,7) 13 A weapo that fires wires to deliver a temporarily paralysig electric shock (5) 14 A private coversatio betwee two persos. (4-1-4) 15 1972 Joh Boorma film starrig Joh Voigt ad Burt reyolds. (11) 17 Fishery i Clahae, Co Kerry, famed for its trout (8) 18 A issue or icidet arousig widespread cotroversy; particularly i coectio with legal cases (5,7) 23 Oe of the oldest ad greatest cities i atiquity; located o the Tigris across from the moder city of Mosul (7) 26 ia ------, author of the ispector rebus series of books (6) 28 A huma beig whose body has bee take over i whole or i part by electromechaical devices (6) 31 Provicial capital of Sichua provice i Southwest Chia (7) 32 A revolvig tray placed o a diig table (4,5) 34 A city o the river Aire i West Yorkshire i orther eglad (5) 36 Addressig a audiece formally (usually a log ad rhetorical address ad ofte pompous) (7) 37 Paved/cleared strips where plaes lad ad take off (7) 40 A Day i the Death of Joe --- 1967 play by Peter Nichols (3) 41 Furished with oars (5) 28 February 2015 - TUi NeWS 42 Comic strip bear created by Mary Tourtel i the 1920s (6) 44 1980s Norwegia pop group (1-2) 46 Mark -----, pe ame of Samuel Laghore Clemes (5) 47 A weight o the ed of a lie, used to determie water depth. (5) 48 edible muscle of molluscs havig fa-shaped shells (7) 50 Put ito service; make work for a particular purpose or use as desiged (7) 51 A white crystallie substace with a bitter aftertaste; used as a fugicide or i makig aspiri or dyes or perfumes (9,4) 52 robert ----- irish chemist who whose defiitios of chemical elemets ad chemical reactios helped to dissociate chemistry from alchemy (1627-1691) (5) 53 ---- of iocece ad of experiece, William Blake (5) 54 Dispose, iclie or etice to (5) 55 --- Campbell, Totteham hotspur cetre-back from 1992-2001 (3) down 1 A shrub or shrubby tree of the geus rhamus; fruits are source of yellow dyes or pigmets (9) 2 The logest river of Asia; flows eastward from Tibet ito the east Chia Sea ear Shaghai (7) 3 2011 Nicolas Widig ref film about a mysterious stut driver (5) 4 A hairstyle that is short at the frot ad sides ad log i the back. (6) 5 A group of carivores that icludes dogs, wolves, foxes, coyotes, jackals (5) 6 Treat, metio, or speak to rudely (7) 7 Lati phrase meaig with livig voice (4,4) 8 To, by or from the side (9) 9 Norwegia author who wrote plays o social ad political themes (5) 10 Old laguage of Scadiavia (5) 12 A film i which much of the actio takes place durig a road jourey (4,5) 16 A iferior dog or oe of mixed breed (3) 19 A Lati phrase, meaig horrible year (5,10) 20 Mokey i Dora the explorer cartoos (5) 21 ----- Marbles - Greek bas-reliefs housed at the British Museum (5) 22 Phoebe's idetical twi sister i the sitcom Frieds (6) 24 A group cosistig of a pair of adults ad their childre (7,6) 25 They study the lives of the saits (13) 27 Oramet a object by embeddig pieces of a differet material i it, flush with its surface. (5) 29 highlad regio of the cetral Uited States, coverig parts of Missouri ad Arkasas. (6) 30 A rule or priciple that provides guidace to appropriate behaviour (4,2,5) 33 irish poet ad playwright whose plays are based o rural irish life (1871-1909) (5) 35 A car that is closed ad that has frot ad rear seats ad two or four doors (5) 38 Nickame of the New Zealad rugby team (3,6) 39 Oe of the stadard pedals o a piao, geerally placed leftmost amog the pedals (4-5) 43 Nicolas ------- Frech paiter i the classical style (1594-1665) (7) 45 A guided missile developed by the Frech govermet for use agaist ships (6) 48 A city i ortheaster Massachusetts; site of the witchcraft trials i 1692 (5) 49 A cravat with wide square eds; secured with a orametal pi (5)