Campaign set in motion by meeting

Last night, 3rd October, saw a large gathering of INTO members, NQTs and current teachers in opposition to allowance and pay cuts.

The meeting was very well attended, with at least 30 new graduates, joined by recent teachers and current teachers numbering 40, in a discussion on the recent pay cuts and allowance adjustments to new entrants and new beneficiaries.

The meeting was addressed by INTO General Secretary Sheila Nunan, CEC (INTO Central Executive) Reps from District 14 and 15 (Pat Crowe and Fergal Brougham) and UNITE Union Economist Michael Taft.

The feeling of disallusionment was clear, with a flavour of anger at recent cuts to NQTs. However, the trend leaned towards a desire to change the circumstances new entrants find themselves in. This anger was transformed by those present into energy for a campaign.

The INTO have fixed Wednesday 24th of October as a date for a protest. It will take place on Molesworth St. outside Dáil Éireann from 4.30pm throughout the evening.

The protest and rally will focus on how education needs to be protected in the upcoming Budget. With the Goverment looking ot save €77m, the INTO plans to gather in numbers to outline how the pupil teacher ratio, new entrants pay and job creation are not up for grabs.

Within the next few years 30,000 new primary school children will pass through schools all over the country. There school teachers need to be qualified, paid fairly, and the class sizes cannot be bloated.
With every rise of one point in the Pupil Teacher Ratio, 300 primary school teaching positions are lost, and children are forced to be in larger classess, which will ultimately hinder their education.

INTO Members all over the country must grab this campaign to protect education. We have a responsability to protect what we all know is the key economic resource of our country as we attempt to return to growth, that is, a highly educated society, which starts in our primary schools and early childhood education.