Irish Federation of University Teachers » INTO

World Teachers’ Day, 5 October 2010

admin — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 08:58:28 +0000

Tuesday, 5 October 2010 is World Teachers’ Day. World Teachers’ Day, held annually on 5 October since 1994, commemorates the anniversary of the signing in 1966 of the UNESCO/ILO Recommendation Concerning the Status of Teachers. It is an occasion to celebrate the essential rôle of teachers in providing quality education at all levels and an occasion to celebrate the immense contribution made by the world’s approximately 55 million teachers to their students, schools and societies.

In a joint statement today, the Presidents of the four Irish teacher unions state that investment in education is critical to sustainable economic recovery.

In their statement, they say: “The message is clear. Compromise education and you not only compromise the future life chances of an entire generation, you put economic recovery in jeopardy.”

The Joint Statement from the Teacher Unions is available here.

Teacher unions rule out return to talks on change

admin — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 15:22:14 +0000

The General Secretaries and Presidents of the four teacher unions met this morning to consider the impact of the budget on teachers and their families and plan a response.

The leadership of the unions is determined to reflect the anger of teachers at the budget cuts to salaries and changes to pensions through a sustained campaign of opposition.

The four unions said the unilateral imposition of a pay cut in the budget was completely incompatible with social partnership, which in the view of the four teacher unions is now over.

All of the unions categorically rejected out of hand any suggestion that talks on a transformation agenda could continue. The unions said Government had its chance to talk last week but spurned the opportunity. “Those talks are over,” said a spokesperson. “They will not be restarted.”

The joint Press Release is available in full here.

Teacher unions promise opposition to cuts in pay

admin — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 19:32:38 +0000

ASTI, IFUT, INTO and TUI have declared their total opposition to cuts in the pay of their members. Such cuts are totally unacceptable and will be resisted.

The General Secretaries and Presidents of the four Teacher Unions issued a Joint Statement after their meeting today (Tuesday, 22 September 2009). “We want to send a crystal clear message to An Taoiseach and his Ministers that we will not accept the scape-goating of our members to pay for a financial crisis which we did not cause.

“Teachers and lecturers have already suffered a severe drop in living standards. If more pain is necessary, it must be spread fairly and evenly over those who can most afford it. Singling out public servants for special treatment is nothing more than an ill-thought out recipe for social division.”

The Press Release is available in full here.

Four teacher unions prepare for challenges ahead

admin — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 21:45:04 +0000

The Presidents and General Secretaries of the four teacher unions (ASTI, IFUT, INTO and TUI) met today (8 September 2009) to prepare a strategy against further attacks on the education system in the coming months.

All four unions are gravely concerned that cutbacks already in place are having a detrimental effect on the education system. Staffing and other cutbacks at primary, post-primary and third-level are severely damaging the education system and the country is at risk of suffering a sharp fall in educational standards if the sector is further targeted.

The unions are committed to maintaining the highest standards within the education system, particularly for the disadvantaged in the communities in which members work.

As trade unions, there is also concern for the security of tenure and conditions of service of teachers and lecturers.

The Press Release is available in full here.