People Before Profit are holding a public Zoom meeting on the teacher staffing crisis on 7th September at 7pm.
There are hundreds of unfilled teaching positions as schools start back from next week.
In Mid-August, the secondary teachers’ union noted that there were 419 unfilled post-primary jobs on the website, education.ie
Teachers, especially younger teachers are leaving Ireland in huge numbers – unable to afford housing and battling soaring living costs.
Many find it hard to secure permanent positions. There has been a disgraceful pattern of putting young teachers on fixed-term contracts, sometimes with a low number of hours or fewer hours than would give them legal rights.
This is a deliberate policy to generate insecurity. Teachers, like any other job, should be hired for permanent positions and be given probationary periods.
There is also a shameful pay inequality between pre- and post-2012 teachers which persists, along with other austerity-era reforms.
Teachers, unlike many other groups, are also forced to work for free because of a policy known as Croke Park hours.
This crisis is the result of government failure on many fronts – education, housing, and the cost of living.
For students, communities, and our teachers, we need an alternative:
- Permanent jobs and an end to Croke Park Hours and other austerity-era reforms.
- Inflation busting pay rises and an end to pay inequality. Dublin and Urban allowances to provide immediate relief for teachers in high-cost areas
- Homes for all
Join the public meeting at 7pm on Thursday 7th September here.
