Primary school principals have deferred strike action pending further discussions this week with the Minister for Education and officials. A one-day strike today in midlands areas has been postponed following concessions made in the Budget, and agreement to hold further talks.
The Irish National Teachers Organisation has welcomed the extra £10 million announced in the Budget for school caretakers and secretaries, and the agreement by the Minister, Mr Martin, to appoint more administrative principals, following meetings last week with the INTO.
On Wednesday this week, union representatives will meet the Minister and officials to discuss the remaining issue. Principals have been campaigning on this for some years. It was the subject of recommendations in a working group report commissioned by the Minister and published earlier this year.
One of those recommendations is that principals who also teach should be allowed time to carry out their management functions. The working group's recommendations did not specify the number of hours a week or month.
An INTO spokeswoman said yesterday that principal teachers needed to have fully-trained substitutes to stand in for them while they carried out their administrative functions, to ensure that classes would not be interrupted.
This claim will be part of the negotiations with Department officials this week. The union said, however, that it had deferred, not cancelled, the strike action, pending the outcome of discussions.
The funding allows about £30 for each pupil a year for care-taking and secretarial facilities for schools with more than 100 pupils, but the INTO said that half of all schools had fewer than 100 pupils and this amount would be insufficient.
