Special needs assistant strike averted by new working rules

A possible strike by special needs assistants (SNAs) has been averted by new rules giving those employed part-time a better chance of extra hours in schools.

The Department of Education was served with notice of industrial action by Impact trade union in March on the issue. It raised concerns that many of its 6,500 SNA members were being overlooked by schools that had extra SNA work if a child with care needs was allocated hours.

They said that hiring other part-time SNAs for those extra hours was causing a fragementation of SNA posts in schools. Education Minister Jan O’Sullivan said in April that she shared concerns about the situation, but could not tell schools how to deal with the issue without first consulting with their representative bodies.

In a letter received by all schools this week, the department has directed boards of management to prioritise existing part-time SNAs already working there when additional allocation of SNA work arises at a school.

“In essence, this means that before an employer opts to recruit a further person as an SNA, they must ensure that all existing part-time SNAs in their employment, in order of seniority, have been offered a full-time position,” said a department spokesman.

In the case of education and training boards (ETBs), any such full-time position must be offered within a school in its scheme. The new rules are to take effect for the new term in autumn, for which schools will be notified of their SNA allocations by the National Council for Special Education in the next few weeks.

Impact represents around half of the 13,000 SNAs working in primary and second-level schools, and its assistant general secretary Dessie Robinson said the notice of industrial action was now withdrawn.

“This has come about as a result of negotiations in which we sought a firm commitment that if there were extra SNA hours in a school, they should go to people who did not already have full-time work,” he said.

SNAs can still be made redundant if their employer school’s allocation of hours from the NCSE is reduced, although they are eligible to go on a panel from which other schools in the area must first recruit if they have vacancies. Mr Robinson said the union has no difficulty with that position, which is dependent on the numbers of pupils in a school with care needs in a given year, and the level of needs which can change.

“This wasn’t about guaranteeing an increase in hours, just that existing SNAs get first call on extra hours rather than people being brought in for just a few hours a week,” he said.

The union had said earlier this year it was getting harder for SNAs to secure decent hours each week.

Ms O’Sullivan told Impact’s education division conference in April that she shared union concerns.