Youthreach: anger at neglect

PAY and conditions of teachers in Youthreach schemes came centre stage at the recent TUI Congress when delegates overwhelmingly endorsed the view that this is "still the worst in any sector in education". The Youthreach programme involves 250 teachers and caters for 15- to 18-year-olds who have either dropped out of school before reaching the compulsory school-leaving age or have left school with no qualifications.

At present the scheme caters for about 4,000 young people. The majority of staff are still part-time despite seven years' service in some cases. The TUI and teachers vented their anger about this in Ennis.

Patricia Carracher, a delegate from the union's Dublin City post-primary branch, said that the Minister's approach of positive discrimination towards the most disadvantaged in society was commendable. "However, the question of early school-leavers is not a part-time problem and the Minister needs to push herself honestly to accepting this unpalatable fact," she said.

Carracher, who pointed out that she is a permanent pensionable teacher, explained: "My colleagues and I contact our local Youthreach with a list of names each year. Despite our expertise, each year we have students who either drop out of the system or who we require to leave our system. Luckily for most we can recommend Youthreach, a system which has the expertise and the ability to teach those students."

The motion which was carried at the TUI's annual congress instructed the TUI executive to pursue with the utmost vigour an incremental salary scale and conditions of service for Youthreach teaching staff equivalent to their second-level colleagues.

"We demand basic equality for those students, the right to be taught by teachers in permanent pensionable positions who can be secure in their jobs and feel respect for their position," said Carracher. "Youthreach students deserve the respect and dignity, shown to the rest of the population.

The motion that pay and conditions in Youthreach are the worst any sector in education was carried unanimously.

Jerry Fitzpatrick, the TUI's information officer, explains that the Department has now agreed to the union's demand to set up an arbitration process to deal with the Youthreach teachers' claim for pay and conditions. Most importantly of all, he said, the case will be heard on its own merits and not within other terms of reference, such as pay restraint clauses in the PCW.

Delegates, all agreed that after eight years there is still no permanency or pensions, no career structure or incremental scale; no qualifications payment or extra remuneration for a longer week or working year - 35 hours per week and varying lengths of holidays, the longest being seven weeks for resource persons in some VECs. There is no recognition of the value of the work and level of responsibility of full-time staff in Youthreach centres.

Delegates also voted that the TUI executive agree a two-month deadline for the completion of the arbitration process, which was recently initiated by the Department. Members also agreed that the Department must show a genuine commitment to solving this problem after eight years of what is seen as, deliberate procrastination. The TUI is now compiling its submission to the independent arbitrator, who has been appointed.