The Department of Education and Skills held discussions with the ASTI today in relation to junior cycle reform. It was agreed that a further meeting would be held next Tuesday 1st November.
The Department will meet with the ASTI again tomorrow in relation to other issues of concern. This follows on from a previous meeting between the Department and the ASTI on Monday of this week.
Department officials have remained in regular contact with the school management bodies on contingency arrangements ahead of the withdrawal of supervision and substitution from 7th November. A further meeting with the school management bodies was held today. However, at this stage it remains the case that widespread school closures are expected from the 7th November due to the ASTI’s industrial action and non-cooperation with contingency.
Notes to Editor
New Entrant Pay
There is a deal on offer to ASTI which would see pay increases of 15% and 22% for new entrant teachers (details below), with a route to further possible increases after that.
Under the proposed deal for new entrant teachers which is being implemented for the INTO and the TUI and which is potentially on offer to the ASTI:
· The starting pay for new entrant members will increase by 15% between 31 August 2016 and 1 January 2018 (from €31,009 to €35,602).
· An individual member recruited since 1 September 2015 will see a 22% increase in their pay between 31 August 2016 and 1 January 2018 (from €31,009 to €37,723).
The benefits of the Lansdowne Road Agreement are not just for new teachers. Teachers with longer service will benefit as well.
· For example, an existing Teacher with 11 years service who is co-operating with the Lansdowne Road Agreement will see her/his pay increase by 9% from August 2016 to January 2018 – from 45,222 to 49,436. This includes salary increases worth 5.7%, rising to a 9% increase when the payment of increment is factored in.
In terms of career earnings, these deals which have been done restore approximately three quarters of the reductions for new entrants put in place since 2011
As minister Bruton has said, this is an unnecessary dispute. Both issues in the dispute have been dealt with for other unions. We again call on ASTI to engage in meaningful talks in order to resolve the dispute.
Benefits of Lansdowne Road Agreement
In addition to the agreed improvement in pay for new teachers, the following benefits apply to teachers covered by the Lansdowne Road Agreement:
• Avoiding a 2 year increment freeze;
• Addition of the S&S allowance of €1,592 into the teacher pay scale;
• The Ward Report measures and a revised sequence for filling posts which enable fixed-term and part-time teachers to gain permanent, full-time jobs more easily and quickly than before;
• Continued alleviation of the FEMPI Act pay reductions;
• An increase in the quantum of the Croke Park hours that can be worked on other than a whole-school basis;
• A review of the usage of the Croke Park hours; and
• Protection against compulsory redundancy.
Croke Park Hours– 33 hours per year
The ASTI's decision in July to withdraw from carrying out the Croke Park Hours – 33 hours per year, agreed under the Croke Park agreement, to allow schools to carry out activities like school planning meetings and parent-teacher meetings – had the effect of repudiating the Lansdowne Road Agreement and precipitating the current dispute.
ASTI's decision to withdraw from the Croke Park hours and thereby repudiate the Lansdowne Road Agreement resulted in the Department withdrawing from ASTI members the benefits of the LRA, including additional payment for supervision and substitution – supervising breaktimes, lunchtimes etc.
The Minister has indicated previously that if the ASTI suspend their directive to not work the Croke Park Hours, then his Department would immediately make available the benefits of the Lansdowne Road agreement, including payment for Supervision and Substitution duties.
The Croke Park hours are part of wider productivity measures introduced under the Lansdowne Road Agreement that require all public servants to work additional time for no additional payment.
Across the public services – education, health, local authorities, civil service etc. - the additional time being provided represents about 450,000 additional hours per annum or the equivalent of between 12,000 and 13,000 public service posts. That is a serious productivity benefit for the Exchequer. Replacing those hours would cost hundreds of millions of euro.
Before the Croke Park hours were introduced, these activities ate into tuition time. This meant that schools closed for full days or half days in order to carry them out, causing interruption to tuition and significant inconvenience for parents, as well as child care costs – particularly for primary parents.
In response to teacher concerns regarding the use of the Croke Park hours, the Department agreed with TUI and INTO to carry out a review of their usage. This review, which also involves the school management bodies, began earlier this month.
The review provides for an up-front increase in the quantum of time allowed for planning and development work on other than a whole-school basis. The original Croke Park Agreement provided that all Croke Park hours (36 for primary and 33 for post-primary annually) would be worked on a whole-school basis. The Haddington Road Agreement provided that up to 5 of the hours could be worked on a less than whole-school basis (e.g. small groups of subject teachers). The recent agreement increases this maximum to 8 hours in September 2016 and 10 hours in September 2017.
Contingency Planning
The Department of Education and Skills has been working with the school management bodies to prepare contingency plans in the event that ASTI withdraw from Substitution and Supervision duties.
Any roll-out of contingency arrangements necessarily had to await the outcome of the ballot that has been completed by ASTI and any subsequent decisions of the ASTI leadership.
ASTI’s position that they will not cooperate with contingency arrangements will lead to widespread closure of schools from 7th November when ASTI members withdraw from carrying out supervision and substitution duties.
Junior Cycle Reform
The new Junior Cycle has been developed over several years and is now in the process of being implemented. The new Framework for Junior Cycle gives students the opportunity to develop a wider range of knowledge and skills – to equip them for further learning, for work, for responsible and active citizenship, and for healthy living. It gives students better learning opportunities, and rewards and recognises non-academic performance and achievements, with a central focus on the student’s quality of life, wellbeing and mental health.
Minister Bruton held a meeting with ASTI in relation to the Junior Cycle in June, and indicated that he and his Department are willing to discuss any clarifications and issues around implementation.
Additional professional time is now being provided, within timetable, for all teachers who are delivering the new junior cycle subjects and other new resources are being provided to their schools to support implementation.
Current third year students of English are now at risk of losing out on 10% of their final examination marks that are associated with the required completion of an Assessment Task. Because of this, the Department of Education and Skills asked that the ASTI withdraw their directive to English teachers (i.e. provide a temporary derogation) to ensure that students being taught by ASTI teachers are not disadvantaged during next summer’s Junior Cycle exams.