A ONE DAY strike scheduled for today, which threatened to close 65 Youthreach centres throughout the State, has been deferred following negotiations between the Department of Education and the Teachers' Union of Ireland.
About 250 TUI members working in Youthreach, an educational programme for early school leavers, had threatened a series of one day strikes over pay and conditions. The Youthreach scheme was jointly established by the Departments of Education and Labour in 1989.
Full time TUI staff in the centres have been working on year to year contracts without increments, promotions or pensions since the programme began. Over 50 per cent of TUI staff in the centres are part time workers, with no contracts or sick pay.