School closures are set to roll out at the end of this month, following the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland’s (ASTI) decision to go on industrial strike.
While ASTI President Ed Byrne yesterday said to expect closures from early November, 27th October was this evening announced as the first planned day of strike.
Secondary school teachers will also be striking on the following dates:
- 8th November
- 16th November
- 24th November
- 29th November
- 6th December
- 7th December
The dates were unveiled just a day after an overwhelming majority voted in favour of industrial action over lower pay for newly-qualified teachers and the deterioration of terms and conditions following ASTI’s rejection of the Lansdowne Road Agreement.
Responding to the announcement, Minister for Education Richard Bruton said he was ‘disappointed’ over the impending strikes.
“I understand that people feel aggrieved and that it has been a tough number of years, but we have to do it [the Budget] in a balanced and fair way so that we are able to bring other people along,” said the Minister.
We will keep you updated as the story develops.
