Teachers will get Day of Mourning pay - Department

Part-time teachers will be paid for the National Day of Mourning last month, the Department of Education has said.

Part-time teachers will be paid for the National Day of Mourning last month, the Department of Education has said.

It said that "at no time whatsoever" was it decided the payments would not be made.

Earlier teachers' union ASTI called on the Minister for Education and Science to immediately reverse a decision it claimed was made to deduct the pay of part-time teachers for September 14th. The union accused the Department of Education of "bureaucratic penny pinching".

"The decision to deduct the pay of part-time teachers for a Government-declared National Day of Mourning is based on an interpretation of employment legislation which is narrow, and another interpretation is possible," ASTI president Ms Catherine Fitzpatrick said.

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"We are calling on the Minister to immediately reverse this outrageous decision which affects part-time workers on lower incomes and has the potential to exacerbate fraught relations between the Department and teachers".

But in a statement, a Department spokesperson said: "At no time whatsoever did the Minister make any decision to withhold payment for part-time teachers scheduled to work on the National Day of Mourning. In keeping with the spirit of the day, there is no question of part-time teachers not being paid in full.

"Claims for recoupment would in the normal way be made at the end of each month. Claims in respect of the month of September have not yet been received or processed," the spokesman said.

Earlier this morning, TUI president Mr John McGowan speaking on RTÉ's Morning Irelandsaid any non payment of part time teachers would be "cheap . . . and extraordinarily insensitive" and accused the Department of victimising part-time teachers.