Global English Language School chain EC announced its immediate closure of all its 25 destination schools including EC Dublin on Monday 14 September.
There was no advance warning for staff according to staff on site coordinating information sessions for students on Wednesday morning.
"We found out when our students found out," said one staff teacher this morning.
Students were being brought up in groups to meet management who explained what would happen next for their main worries: sunk tuition costs, accommodation, exams, and visas.
Ireland has a history of English Language Teaching (ELT) business owners announced a series of snap closures especially between 2014-16 when over a dozen for-profit colleges and schools closed exposing to the country's reputation as a English Language learning destination because of its lack of regulation.
Teachers joined Unite the union as any solutions offered by owners focused on students and ownership. Teachers organised meetings and networks like ELT Advocacy Ireland to build up a normalisation of union membership which eventually became the Unite ELT Branch of Unite helped enormously when Grafton College announced their snap closure just after an unpaid pay day as December began in 2018. This led to an occupation of the building and from that national political and media attention.
The government was finally forced by the scandal of under-regulation of business owners, consumer-side outcry both from sales agents and embassies and growing worker power to act. Cabinet appointed an inspector, Patrick King, whose report led to advice that a Joint Labour Committee should be established. Though the process was long-fingered by government and business owner organisations because of Covid the need for real regulation for teachers is clear.
The options for teachers are to accept the statutory redundancy (the lowest legal amount an employer can pay you under the law) as individuals, or together resist and demand continuance of employment, an new ownership or an enhanced redundancy package which could and should include all workers and be much higher than the statutory minimums.
To make their best decision, they should consider occupying the building as Grafton Colllege teachers did in 2018, which would be a civil and not a criminal matter.
This would be done to highlight teachers' stories and build a stronger position of leverage to force government and business owners to take the industry and the specific problems it presents to long-suffering low-paid English Language Teachers seriously.
Holding a protest at the building or at the Department of Further and Higher Education might help highlight the story and act as a warning to other business owners who are thinking about throwing the workers into redundancy. Many have worked or studied in the industry so there will be a lot of support on the street and amongst the students they taught.
These teachers need good union advice as many are forced to work for multiple employers often with summer seasonal ups and winter period unemployment complicating the calculations that should be easy if all hours worked were paid and all weeks teachers remained available counted towards employment.
Every worker should be active in their union.
People Before Profit stands in solidarity with the staff and students affected.
Workers can contact our trade union department in confidence at info@pbp.ie