College teachers in row over bid to move staff
Eight teachers at Ballyfermot College of Further Education have been told they are surplus to requirements because of falling enrolments and the Government’s increase in pupil-teacher ratios in the post-Leaving Certificate (PLC) sector. The Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) has initiated the grievance procedure, claiming that City of Dublin Education and Training Board (CDETB) did not follow long-standing agreements on teacher transfers.
But three teachers got letters from CDETB chief executive Jacinta Stewart yesterday telling them to move to their assigned colleges pending the outcome.
“Refusal to comply with the above will be viewed as a refusal to comply with a legitimate instruction of the CEO,” she wrote.
But Helen Mahony, Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) representative at the college, said these letters should not have been sent to them individually when the union is already representing them. She said other staff at the college are fully behind their colleagues and voted to support them at a meeting on Monday night before the letters were received.
“The status quo should remain in place until the grievance is resolved through agreed procedures. We know it’s in teacher’s contracts that they can be moved but there is an agreement on how it is to be done and CDETB did not comply with it,” Ms Mahony said.
CDETB said normal circumstances did not apply this year because it was only notified of its staffing allocation by the Department of Education in June.
“We are actively engaged with TUI Dublin city post-primary branch and TUI head office, using the agreed grievance procedures, in addressing the concerns of staff in relation to these transfers. In the meantime all scheduled classes will run as normal and no permanent teaching staff will lose their posts or have their working terms and conditions reduced as a result of this,” it said.
CDETB said arrangements were made to transfer permanent teachers who were surplus to curriculum needs to schools that had vacancies and those affected were told as soon as the destination school was confirmed.
It said the chief executive has authority to assign a teacher to any school, college or centre depending on needs within the ETB.
The eight teachers affected in Ballyfermot are understood to include a mix of permanent, contract, and part-time staff who teach in areas that include animation, art, business, media and guidance counselling.
