Around 200 teachers last night attended the first of eight road-shows planned by the Minister for Education, Mr Dempsey, to provide information on the new supervision/substitution deal, writes Conor Lally
The secondary teachers' union, ASTI, which is currently balloting members on the deal, has been encouraging teachers not to attend the Minister's meetings. The ASTI leadership has recommended rejection of the deal.
After the two-hour meeting in Lucan, Mr Dempsey said he was happy with the turnout. He said there could be aspects of the proposals that might be reviewed after 12 months.
The Minister was forced to defend his plans on numerous occasions and was heckled repeatedly by dozens of teachers, many of whom said they believed the current proposals were "morally wrong and unjust".
Some said the very fact the road-show was taking place amounted to interference by an employer in a union ballot.
Many of the female teachers who spoke during the question-and-answer session branded the proposals as "sexist" because a female teacher who takes a number of years out of the profession to have children will lose pension entitlements in respect of supervision/substitution work carried out in the years prior to taking leave. Teachers must commit to carrying out supervision/substitution for every week of their working life up to retirement or face losing their pension entitlements in respect of monies paid for that work.
In the face of heckling, the Minister said he had "not come to tell you what you want to hear". He added: "I have come here for the purposes of giving information - this is the deal, warts and all."