Productivity demands put forward for teachers

THE Department of Education wants the practice of awarding senior positions in schools to the longest-serving teachers to be scrapped as part of the social partnership pay talks.

The department has put forward four major productivity demands to be met in return for salary increases under a successor to the Sustaining Progress deal, currently being debated by the social partners.

Among these is a review of promotion procedures for posts of responsibility up to principal level which, more often than not, have gone to long-serving members of staff.

It is known that Education Minister Mary Hanafin is anxious about this practice as it may deter younger, more enthusiastic candidates from applying.

The Department of Education’s proposal is that interview panels should no longer award candidates marks for seniority, as they fear it may raise questions of discrimination.

Among the other preliminary demands from the Government side is a system of performance management for teachers, an issue likely to face strong resistance from unions.

The Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) has warned in recent months that any such system would effectively introduce performance-related pay based on assessments by principals, breaking the long-standing basic common pay scale for primary and second-level teachers.

Also on the table is a Department of Education proposal to introduce a single scheme for redeployment of surplus teachers, a situation which arises when a school’s enrolment falls considerably.

The focus will be on second level, where there is little room for moving staff between schools under the three different management structures.

The final area of modernisation being sought is the movement of training and professional development for teachers to weekends or during mid-terms and other breaks. This is part of the Government’s ongoing strategy to reduce the erosion of the school year, under which primary schools must provide at least 183 days of tuition a year and at least 167 days must be provided for second-level students.