Teachers have voted in favour of going on strike once more, if hundreds of assistant principal jobs are not reinstated.
The unanimous vote was cast earlier today on the second day of the Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI) conference in Cork.
The issue was raised after the TUI’s general secretary Michael Gillespie shocked attendants with figures of a “catastrophic drop” in assistant principal posts across the country.
Mr Gillespie stated to the audience that in 2009, there were 3,730 senior assistant principals, but during last year, this figure dropped by almost 30% to 2,653.
Worryingly, Mr Gillespie noted that the statistics for junior assistant principles had been damaged even further. In 2009, there were 5,493 of them across the country, but in 2022, that number decreased by 43% to 3,106.
In his speech to fellow educators earlier this morning, Laois TUI member Gerry Quinn insisted that the Government needs to take action, specifically by restoring half of the missing jobs in Budget 2024, and for the remainder to be addressed in the following Budget.
“Our demand is restoration. It’s not a general aspirational motion. It's a very, very specific demand. This is specifically what we want,” he explained.
“If it's not realised then certain actions will have to be taken, including a ballot of members for a sustained and broad-based campaign of industrial action,” Mr Quinn added.
In his own speech, TUI executive committee member Noel Cronin seconded the comments and promised that industrial action would be on the table during the upcoming academic year, if their needs are not met.
“This has been going on now for 14 years,” he stated.
“Students are entitled to proper support and services and teachers deserve a proper career structure. Without a proper career structure, it isn't any wonder we have a teachers supply crisis,” he said.
Minister for Education Norma Foley is expected to attend the conference today and to address union members’ concerns.
