Teacher unions plan third strike over junior cycle proposals

No resolution looks likely before Christmas in the teachers’ junior cycle reform dispute as unions plan a third strike early next year if proposed talks do not end in a resolution.

The leaders of both second-level teacher unions yesterday set Thursday, January 22, as the next date for a stoppage at 723 schools. Their 27,000 members’ first strike kept 340,000 students at home on December 2.

But while moves are in train to get the unions and Education Minister Jan O’Sullivan back talking, a further one-day strike is also now proposed. The executives of the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (Asti) and Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) said such action would be taken “if necessary” on a date to be announced.