This week an email went out to all INTO members to welcome them back to school. Many teachers had a very bad end to the school year when INTO members voted in favour of the Lansdowne Road Agreement, effectively allowing the government to pay newer teachers on a lower pay scale. At the time, the INTO said that they ay equality would be one of their priorities after the agreement.
The new school year newsletter charted the challenges ahead for INTO members and they stated that employment of qualified teachers tops the INTO’s agenda. There was an urge for schools to take on NQTs for substitute work, an advertisement for NQTs to register on SubSearch and some advice for NQTs not to take on Jobbridge (despite a directive for schools not to take part). There were also little snippets on adding a music qualification to your teaching qualification, some call from RTE to take part in a TV show about sugar intake amongst other things.
There was no mention of the INTO working to ensure all teachers were on an equal pay scale. I’m sure this is very disappointing for any teacher who has qualified in the last few years.
