Teachers urged to act if colleagues are bullied

TEACHERS were urged to support colleagues being bullied in schools.

Delegates at the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) congress also passed a motion calling on their executive to ensure all union officials, branch officers and school representatives are trained in proper procedures to deal with bullying.

TUI executive member Gerard Craughwell said all teachers had a role to play when a bully entered their workplace, adding that taking action may save the life of another teacher.

“If you are the bullied, then talk about it, tell colleagues about it,” he said. “Confront the bully if you are able or seek help if you are not.”

Separately, concerns were raised about possible discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender teachers in schools.

There was unanimous support for calls for the repeal of Section 37 of the Employment Equality Act, which allows religious-run schools to give more favourable treatment to prospective employees on religious grounds so as to maintain their ethos.

Dublin City Post Primary delegate Fearga Ni Bhroin said the legislation protected the interests of the Church at the expense of the rights of individual employees.

She said it was bad for all teachers and was a potential threat to them in their careers.

“It is a particular threat to lesbian and gay teachers because of the repeated and virulent condemnation of homosexuality by the Catholic Church,” she claimed.

Delegates passed a motion from Cork, Offaly and Dublin branches calling on the Government to remove the right of certain schools to discriminate on religious grounds when hiring teachers.