Fewer teaching hours becoming 'the norm'

MORE THAN one in four second-level teachers are employed on contracts offering less than full working hours, according to the Teachers’ Union of Ireland.

The union yesterday warned that the “increasing casualisation” of the profession is making it more difficult for teachers to secure permanent positions.

The union also said the situation could force young graduates to emigrate in a bid to get secure employment.

According to the union’s research, more than a quarter of its members earn a salary based on less than full hours.

Full hours were 22 teaching hours a week which equated to 47 working hours, the union said.

Annette Dolan, the deputy general secretary of the union, said the choice for aspirant teachers was rapidly becoming emigration or another career altogether.

“Where once second-level teachers applied for permanent jobs, now they apply for hours,” she said.

“Regrettably, it has become the norm in recent times for young teachers to start out on small numbers of hours with no guarantee of their services being retained the following year.

“For those entering the teaching profession after a training period of five years, we would estimate that it takes an average of a further five years to secure a level of permanency. Even then, this is often on small numbers of hours that see them earning considerably less than the average industrial wage.

Meanwhile a Donegal teacher today takes over leadership of the State’s largest second-level teacher union, the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland (ASTI).

Gerry Breslin, a business and maths teacher at Coláiste Cholmcille, Ballyshannon, Co Donegal, said his priorities for the coming year were protecting the education service from further cuts and improving the pay and conditions of recently qualified second-level teachers.

“Our schools were under-funded even before any of the cutbacks of the past 3½ years,” Mr Breslin said. “As ASTI president I will work to convince the politicians of this country that the cutbacks approach is not working.”