Primary teachers may opt out of supervision

Primary school teachers who are INTO members may opt out of supervision duties when they re-start work next week, the union said today.

At an executive meeting in Westport, Co Mayo, today the union warned that the issue of whether extra payments for supervision were included for pension purposes must be resolved immediately to avoid industrial action.

A lump sum payment for duties carried out in the past has also not been paid to teachers yet.

An INTO delegation is due to meet with the Department of Education on Thursday to discuss the issues. A spokesman for the union told ireland.comthey would be "demanding" the talks conclude successfully by Friday.

INTO members accepted a €37 an hour pay offer for supervision duties in May but, unlike ASTI members, agreed to work while the issue of pensionability was discussed with the Department of Education.

The spokesman said that, while the union was instructing its members to comply with its "duty of care to children", it could not guarantee some members would not opt out of supervision.

In March, secondary teachers who are members of the ASTI withdrew from supervision duties while costly contingency plans were implemented by the Department. The plans cost an estimated €18 million.