Asti conference: A member of Asti's executive who is facing disciplinary procedures after refusing to attend parent-teacher meetings in his school has pledged to take his fight "as far as I can".
Bernard Lynch recently sent out evaluation sheets to parents of pupils at Marian College in Dublin with an offer of a follow-up meeting within school hours.
This was instead of attending the parent-teacher meetings, agreed by the Asti as part of the standardised school year.
Addressing the Asti conference, he said there were a number of reasons why he had refused to attend the meetings outside school hours.
These included his belief that, as a "vital part" of his job as a teacher, such meetings should be included within the normal school day. He also believed he could not provide a proper professional service to parents having spent a day teaching, and said this could also impact on his personal health.
He said he had received a letter from his board of management on the issue and he was aware that his actions could ultimately threaten his job.
But he warned that if he was forced to attend the parent-teacher meetings outside school hours, then he would similarly reduce his own involvement in some 200 hours of extra-curricular activities.
Speaking on the issue Bernadine O'Sullivan, from Dublin northeast, claimed employers body Ibec was in fact the main beneficiary of parent-teacher meetings.
This was because they did not want to let their employees have the time off to attend such meetings, although certain Ibec members were happy to do so for rugby matches.
Yesterday's convention also heard that teachers have more power than they realise when it comes to school discipline.
Delegate Edward Moran, from Mayo east, said it was essential for teachers to show their students where to draw the line.
However, others said it was becoming practically impossible for teachers to remove a disruptive student from a class.
Séamus Horan, from Dublin northeast, said educational welfare officers seemed to be more concerned with locking these students into schools than dealing with them properly.
Meanwhile, the woman who led the investigation into expense claims by former Asti general secretary, Charlie Lennon, narrowly retained her position yesterday.
Patricia Wroe was re-elected to the post of honorary treasurer of the Asti, ahead of former union president PJ Sheehy.
Michael Freeley from Mayo also succeeded in winning the contest for the vice-presidency of the Asti following a similarly close-fought ballot yesterday.