Non-permanent staff face greater risk of bullying

TEACHERS without permanent jobs face greater threats of bullying from students or colleagues because it’s harder for them to raise problems with management, a conference heard yesterday.

The issue arose during a debate at the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) convention, where delegates sought research on the issue to highlight the extent of bullying in schools.

Around 5,000 of the union’s 17,000 members do not have permanent positions, although many have secured contracts of indefinite duration (CID) in the past few years arising from ASTI negotiations with the Department of Education.