Teachers gather this week for their annual conferences at a time when the profession has been brutalised by the failed policies of the corrupt and the criminal in Fianna Fail over the past 14 years. It is hoped that the lot of teachers can be improved under the new coalition Government and that their contribution to society is fully recognised. Pay, pensions and job prospects will be top of the agenda at the annual conferences of the three teachers’ unions this week.
More than 750 primary school teachers from across the country will gather in Sligo for the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) convention which opens today.
Education Minister Ruairi Quinn and the union’s general secretary Sheila Nunan will address delegates, who will discuss salaries, pensions and job prospects of new teachers.
The INTO claims up to 2,000 teachers will be without regular work at primary level next year.
Members will also focus on cutbacks in resources for special needs pupils and disadvantaged children, the future of small schools and the Croke Park Agreement.
Annual conferences for the Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI) and second level teachers union ASTI open tomorrow.
