A CO MAYO school has apologised to a teaching union after it held a parent-teacher meeting after working hours. The meeting took place in Davitt College, Castlebar, last month in contravention of a directive from the Teachers’ Union of Ireland.
The TUI has banned after-hours parent-teacher meetings as part of its protest campaign against pay cuts.
TUI general secretary Peter MacMenamin confirmed last night that a complaint had been made to the union about the meeting. He said he had sought a full report on the incident.
However, the school believes the matter is now closed. It is understood it apologised to the local branch for organising the meeting and expressed regret about any embarrassment caused to the union. This apology was accepted by the union at local level.
Sources at the school say there were some “teething problems” with the directive. They also pointed out that students in the school lost several days’ tuition because of the extreme weather conditions last month.
The TUI has signalled that any member who defies a directive faces disciplinary action which could include a formal censure, suspension, a fine or even expulsion, but there appears to be no question of disciplinary action in this case.
The directive on parent-teacher meetings – and others banning co- operation with various Department of Education programmes – was issued as part of the campaign against public sector pay cuts.
A similar directive has been issued by the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) and the Association of Secondary Teachers, Ireland (ASTI).
The TUI has also confirmed that it is investigating alleged incidents where members in “less than 10” other schools reported for work during last November’s day of action across the public service. More than 4,000 schools closed on November 24th in protest at pay cuts.