An emergency motion will be put before the TUI congress tomorrow demanding that the Education Bill be amended so that nothing in the Act will alter the terms and conditions of employment for teachers, the union's general secretary said.
The Bill includes a provision for the imposition of statutory duties on both principals and teachers. It does not include a commitment to provide the resources necessary for a comprehensive education service, and the motion further demands that the Bill be amended to give a commitment to provide these resources.
The motion also asks "that the Bill be amended to provide statutory representation of teachers on VECs".
Other demands included in the motion, which was formulated by the union's executive, are a provision for the establishment of a further education authority and a provision to indemnify teachers against legal action while carrying out their duties.
The motion also asks that the Bill be amended to make the establishment of a committee to deal with disadvantage in education a statutory requirement.
The Bill provides for the establishment of boards of management of schools where practicable. The TUI wants this amended so that the establishment of such boards becomes a statutory requirement.
Mr Jim Dorney told congress that the union had formulated detailed amendments to the Bill which had been given to the Government and all the political parties. He looked forward to these amendments being taken on board at the committee stage of the Bill.
On Whole School Evaluation, he noted that the original proposals had been significantly amended. The two other teacher unions, the ASTI and INTO, are taking part in a pilot WSE project.