News VOL.40 / NO.3 December 2017 - Teachers' Union of Ireland

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News VOL.40 / NO.3 December 2017 - Teachers' Union of Ireland
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TEACHERS’ UNION OF IRELAND / AONTAS MÚINTEOIRÍ ÉIREANN

                                                          VOL .40 / NO.3
                                                         Dece mbe r 2 0 17
News VOL.40 / NO.3 December 2017 - Teachers' Union of Ireland
TUI NEWS

    CONTENTS:
    p.3     A Word From The President
                                                   Pay increases/restoration
    p.4     PSSA ballot result & Public            due to TUI members on
            Service Pay and Pensions Bill
    p.5     Third level protests                   1st January 2018
    p. 7    TUI calls for 1% corporate tax
                                                  Unless the Union is deemed to have                  more than €110,000) that was imposed
            levy for higher education
                                                  repudiated the relevant national                    under the terms of the Haddington
    p.8     Doing more with less – Latest         agreement, the following pay increases              Road Agreement. The first half of the
            OECD Education At A Glance            are due to TUI members from 1st                     restoration occurred on 1st April 2017.
            indicators                            January 2018.                                       This restoration will bring the relevant
                                                                                                      scales back to 2010 levels. For those
    p.10 Important dates to Annual                Teachers appointed since                            earning in excess of €110,000, remaining
         Congress 2018                                                                                tranches of restoration will be paid on
                                                  1st January 2011
    p.12 Croke Park Hours – Your                                                                      1st April 2018 and 1st April 2019.
                                                  Second half of restoration of value of
         rights and responsibilities              the Honours Primary Degree Allowance                In addition:
         explained                                for teachers employed since 1st
    p.16 Global Schoolroom                        February 2012. The first half of the value          1% increase to all scales
         programme extends to Sierra              of the allowance was added to scale on              The Union’s clear position on the Public
         Leone and Kenya                          1st January 2017. From 1st January 2018,            Service Stability Agreement (PSSA) and
                                                  there will be an amalgamated scale for              the Pay and Pensions Bill is set out
    p.18 Retrospective Vetting update             all teachers appointed since 1st January            elsewhere in this magazine. However, if
         from the Teaching Council                2011, incorporating the full value of the           TUI is deemed to be ‘covered’ by the
    p.19 Update on curriculum                     Honours Primary Degree Allowance. As                agreement (i.e. not to have repudiated
                                                  a result, in addition to the increases for          it) the 1% increase will apply to all scales
         development
                                                  those appointed since 1st February                  on 1st January 2018.
    p.20 Palestinian school supported             2012, some of the points on scale for
         by TUI destroyed                         those appointed between 1st January                 Other increases due under the
                                                  2011 and 31st January 2012 will also                PSSA are: 1% on 1st October 2018;
    p.22 Application form for two pre-
                                                  increase.                                           1.75% on 1st September 2019;
         retirement seminars in early                                                                 2% on 1st October 2020. If the Union
         2018                                     Teachers and lecturers                              were to be deemed not to be covered
    p.23 RMA News                                 earning over €65,000                                by the Agreement (i.e to have
                                                                                                      repudiated it), each of the four increases
    p.24 Crossword with €250 prize                Second half of the restoration of the pay
                                                                                                      will be subject to a nine-month delay.
                                                  cut to salaries over €65,000 (but not

                                    EDITORIAL                                                                    PRODUCTION

                                    Annette Dolan                       Bernie Ruane                             TUI News is published by the
                                    Deputy General Secretary            Assistant General Secretary              Teachers’ Union of Ireland.
                                    adolan@tui.ie                       bruane@tui.ie                            Aontas Múinteoirí Éireann,
                                                                                                                 73 Orwell Road, Rathgar, Dublin 6.
                                    Declan Glynn                        David Duffy
    Joanne Irwin                    Assistant General Secretary         Education & Research Officer
    President                       dglynn@tui.ie                       dduffy@tui.ie                            T: 01-492 2588    F: 01-492 2953
    president@tui.ie                                                                                             E: tui@tui.ie     W: www.tui.ie
                                    Aidan Kenny                         Nadia Johnston
    Seamus Lahart                   Assistant General Secretary         Administrative Officer
                                                                                                                 Printed by:
    Vice-President                  akenny@tui.ie                       njohnston@tui.ie
                                                                                                                 Typecraft Ltd.
    vicepresident@tuimail.ie
                                    Michael Gillespie                   Conor Griffin
                                    Assistant General Secretary         Press & Information Officer
    John MacGabhann                 mgillespie@tui.ie                   cgriffin@tui.ie
    General Secretary
    jmacgabhann@tui.ie              Colm Kelly
                                    Assistant General Secretary
                                    ckelly@tui.ie

2   December 2017 - TUI NEWS
News VOL.40 / NO.3 December 2017 - Teachers' Union of Ireland
A Word from the
                                                            President – Joanne Irwin
                                                February 2012 is due on this date, as is        OECD indicators endorse
                                                the second half of the pay restoration for
                                                those earning over €65,000.
                                                                                                work of Irish educators
                                                                                                The latest international indicators show
                                                New entrant pay issues                          that teachers and lecturers continue to
                                                Along with colleagues from the ASTI and         excel in their roles despite low levels of
                                                INTO, TUI representatives met with              investment in education, generally
                                                officials from the Department of Public         working longer hours and catering for
                                                Expenditure and Reform to scope out             more students than their international
                                                issues around new entrant pay. It was           counterparts. We’ve set out some of the
                                                agreed at the meeting that updated data         main findings in graphic form elsewhere
                                                was required to inform the process. The         in this magazine. They are useful in
                                                union has entered this engagement in            countering some common
                                                good faith, and it does not in any way          misconceptions. For example, ill-informed
  TUI PRESIDENT, JOANNE IRWIN
                                                compromise our position on the PSSA.            discourse over the length of the Irish
                                                As the ballot results show, TUI members         school year holds little water when one
                                                                                                considers that Irish teachers teach annual
Non-acceptance of                               remain united in the campaign for pay
                                                                                                hours far in excess of OECD and
                                                equality, irrespective of whether they
proposed agreement                              entered the profession before or after          European norms.
As you will be aware, TUI members               1st January 2011. Keep an eye on the
overwhelmingly chose to not accept the          website and the union’s social media
                                                                                                Croke Park hours –
proposed Public Service Stability               platforms for any update on this process.       Your rights and
Agreement (PSSA) in a national ballot by
a margin of 87% to 13%. Separately, a
                                                                                                responsibilities
                                                Third level protest and                         Following numerous requests from
strong mandate was given by members to
engage in a campaign of industrial action,
                                                corporate levy as a funding                     members, we’ve included an overview of
up to and including strike action, to           mechanism                                       the various rights and responsibilities of
secure a fair and sustainable resolution to     In late September, academic staff at            teachers in terms of Croke Park hours.
the issue of pay inequality. While the          Institutes of Technology protested              This guide is featured in the centre pages
proposed agreement was accepted by an           outside their workplaces over the               of the magazine for easy reference. If
aggregate of affiliated unions, TUI, ASTI       continuing damage being caused to their         there are any other areas that you would
and INTO all voted against its acceptance.      sector by chronic underfunding. TUI             like to see covered in a similar way, please
TUI has made clear that, as is its tradition,   members also protested outside Dáil             don’t hesitate to let us know.
it will decide itself whether or not to be      Éireann and the offices of the HEA.
bound by the aggregate vote.                    Separately, TUI supported USI’s national
                                                                                                Play your part
                                                demonstration in Dublin in favour of            Once again, with the end of the calendar
In addition, the Union strongly criticised      publicly funded higher education. At any        year in sight, I would urge members,
the Public Service Pay and Pensions Bill,       and every opportunity, TUI has called for       particularly those new or relatively new
which, through a range of                       a 1% corporate levy to create a                 to the profession, to play an active part in
disproportionate penalties, seeks to bully      dedicated fund for investment in higher         their Union by attending branch meetings
the members of unions who choose not            education. It is the very least that            and considering becoming part of their
to comply with national agreements.             corporations, which derive so much from         Workplace Committee or taking up a
                                                the country’s education system, could do        role as Branch Officer.You are your
Pay increases/restoration                       to show their allegiance to Irish society. It   Union. Help to define and shape the
on 1st January 2018                             would be a fitting and appropriate              policies and priorities of the Teachers’
Details of pay increases due to TUI             solution to a problem that worsens with         Union of Ireland as we move forward
members on 1st January are set out              every passing week, a crisis that               into a new year.
elsewhere in this magazine. The                 Government has abjectly failed to
restoration of the value of the second          address.
half of the Honours Primary Degree
Allowance to those appointed since 1st

                                                                                                               www.tui.ie - TUI NEWS           3
News VOL.40 / NO.3 December 2017 - Teachers' Union of Ireland
TUI NEWS

     TUI members vote not to accept proposed
     Public Service Stability Agreement and give
     strong mandate for industrial action
     TUI members, by a large majority, voted not      TUI representatives brought the ballot result
     to accept the proposed Public Service            to a meeting of the ICTU’s Public Services
     Stability Agreement (PSSA) in a national         Committee (PSC), where the agreement was
     ballot in September, and, with particular        accepted by an aggregate vote of affiliated
     reference to pay inequality, mandated a          unions. However, TUI made clear that it will,
     campaign of industrial action, up to and         as it has previously done, make its own
     including strike action, to secure a fair and    sovereign decision. It is longstanding policy
     sustainable resolution.                          that the union will decide for itself whether
                                                      or not to be bound by an aggregate vote of
     The Union’s Executive Committee had              unions of the PSC in matters affecting terms
     recommended rejection of the proposed            and conditions of employment.
     agreement because, as framed, it would
     effectively copper-fasten a system of pay        Members of both INTO and ASTI have also
     inequality for its three- year duration.         rejected the proposed Agreement in national
                                                      ballots – the INTO in May, the ASTI in
     Throughout the negotiations that led to this     October.
     proposed agreement, TUI clearly and
     unambiguously identified the issue of pay        Initial meeting regarding new entrant
     equality for those appointed on or after 1st     pay issues
     January 2011 as being of primary importance.
                                                      Following acceptance of the PSSA, the PSC
     TUI has prioritised and campaigned on this       sought earlier commencement of the
     issue and has made some important progress,      examination/review of issues related to new
     most significantly through the reinstatement     entrant scales. The TUI was represented at an
     of the value of the Honours Primary Degree       initial meeting of the review on October
     Allowance (in two tranches) for those            12th.
     employed since 1st February 2012. However,
     under the PSSA proposals, the issue of new       INTO and ASTI also attended, along with
     entrant pay would not be further examined        other public sector unions and officials from
     until 2018, with application of any outcome      the Department of Public Expenditure and
     no sooner than 2021. Members have                Reform. It was agreed at the meeting that
     emphatically decided that this block on          detailed, updated data is required to inform
     further progress for the next three years is     the process. That data is being provided by
     unacceptable.                                    the relevant Departments.

    Bill ‘a heavy-handed, oppressive effort to
    coerce compliance’ - TUI
    TUI has criticised the content of the            to coerce compliance with an agreement           of austerity is clearly still in the ascendant.
    Public Service Pay and Pensions Bill             that, in its current form, leaves a gross
    2017, describing the sanctions it sets           injustice intact in terms of pay inequality.     TUI calls on fair-minded politicians of all
    out for non-compliance with the                                                                   parties and none to reject the oppressive
    Public Service Stability Agreement               TUI of course recognises that when               approach set out in the Bill and we will be
    (PSSA) as ‘outrageous’.The Bill, which           industrial action is taken, there are, in the    making strong representations to them in
    was published on 7th November,                   normal course of events, consequences.           this regard.
    allows Government to inflict a range             However, the consequences mapped out in
                                                     the Bill are entirely disproportionate and       TUI makes no apology for its demand that
    of punitive measures on members of
                                                     perverse. They would have the most               pay equality should apply and that new and
    those unions considered to be outside
                                                     damaging and dramatic effect on precisely        recent entrants to teaching and lecturing
    the PSSA, including a freeze on
                                                     the same new and recent entrants to the          should not suffer discrimination.
    increments until 2020 and a nine-
    month delay on the payment of                    public service who have suffered
                                                                                                      Along with other unions which rejected the
    increases.                                       discrimination and pay inequality by virtue
                                                                                                      agreement, TUI has recently engaged in
                                                     simply of the date that they commenced
                                                                                                      good faith with Government on the issue of
    However, if the Union is deemed to be            their public service employment.
                                                                                                      pay inequality. The publication of this Bill
    ‘covered’ by the agreement (ie not to have
                                                     The outrageous sanctions set out would           must not be allowed to impede or delay the
    repudiated it), the punitive measures will
                                                     pursue the punished to the grave. We have        necessary and just process of eliminating
    not apply.
                                                     been told by Government that the                 pay inequality.
    Regardless, the Bill represents a heavy-         emergency is over. However, the anti-public
    handed, oppressive effort by Government          service attitude that characterised the era

4     December 2017 - TUI NEWS
News VOL.40 / NO.3 December 2017 - Teachers' Union of Ireland
TUI NEWS

TUI protests over damage to
Institute of Technology sector
Academic staff staged lunchtime protests         in third level participation was welcome,
outside Institutes of Technology, Dáil           the complete failure by successive
Éireann and the Higher Education                 governments to provide appropriate
Authority (HEA) offices on 27th                  funding and to maintain appropriate staffing
September over the funding crisis within         levels had been hugely damaging to the
their sector, in which TUI represents over       sector, the working conditions of academic
4,000 members.                                   staff and the educational experience of
                                                 students.
Speaking on the day, TUI President Joanne
Irwin said that while the significant increase   Between 2008 and 2015, student numbers
                                                                             (continued overleaf)

  Lunchtime protests outside Institutes of Technology,
                  27th September

                                                                                                         www.tui.ie - TUI NEWS   5
News VOL.40 / NO.3 December 2017 - Teachers' Union of Ireland
TUI NEWS

      Dáil protest, 27th September

    within the Institute of Technology sector     As a result of the fall in lecturer numbers     Academic workload in the Institutes of
    rose by 21,411 or 32%. Over the same          and the steep rise in student numbers,          Technology is disproportionate, unfair and
    period, the number of lecturers fell by 535   lecturer workload has increased                 unsustainable, and with lecturing delivery
    or 9.5%.                                      considerably. Findings of a survey carried      hours significantly above domestic and
                                                  out by TUI (April 2015) show that lecturers     international norms, academic staff are
    The latest international data shows that      were experiencing high levels of work-          severely restricted in terms of their
    spending on third level in Ireland is just    related stress as a result of cutbacks and      engagement with research. TUI has urged
    1.1% of GDP, more than 30% below the          rationalisation of the sector, and we believe   the Department of Education and Skills to
    OECD average of 1.6%                          that the situation has worsened since then.     engage with us on the crisis.

      March for publicly funded third third level education, 4th October

6   December 2017 - TUI NEWS
News VOL.40 / NO.3 December 2017 - Teachers' Union of Ireland
TUI NEWS

  TUI supports                     TUI calls for 1% corporate tax levy for higher education
  student                          TUI has again called for the application of an
  campaign in                      additional 1% levy to corporation tax to create a
                                   dedicated fund for investment in higher education.
  favour of
  publicly funded                  The union has highlighted how such a measure would
                                   have raised an additional €588m in funding for the
  higher                           sector in 2016. The Cassells expert group reported
  education                        last year that the sector will require additional annual
                                   funding of €600m by 2021.
  TUI also supported the
                                   The corporate sector consistently derives benefit
  Union of Students in
                                   from Ireland’s deep and excellent graduate labour
  Ireland (USI) national
                                   pool which is largely the product of the public
  demonstration on 4th             education system - funded by taxpayers. The
  October in favour of             introduction of a levy would further enhance the
  publicly funded higher           quality of the graduate labour pool, the capacity of
  education. Union                 institutions to meet evolving need and, ultimately, the
  President Joanne Irwin and       sustainability of the enterprises that contribute to the
  other TUI representatives        fund.
  marched with thousands
  of students and other            Ultimately, students and their families would benefit
  stakeholders through             from the application of the levy TUI is advocating, which, in addition to improving the education
  Dublin to a rally in             experience, would largely remove the need for a system of income contingent loans. Increasing
  Merrion Square, where IT         tuition fees, let us remember, is privatisation in a flimsy disguise.
  Tallaght lecturer Martin         A levy would represent a wholly appropriate contribution by corporations that would allow them
  Marjoram emphasised the          counter the perception that they have no allegiance to the society from which they benefit so much.
  importance of the USI
  campaign and outlined the        The union notes that corporation tax is payable only in respect of profits made by companies and
  negative impact of the           organisations and that, while the nominal rate of this tax is 12.5% - significantly below the
  funding crisis on the            international norm - the effective rate is considerably lower still. Considerations of corporate
  student experience and           responsibility, social equity, the maintenance of public funding of higher education and the
  the quality of provision in      undesirability of further increasing the cost to students of participation in higher education argue
  an address to those              strongly for a tangible and substantial contribution by corporations that is channelled through the
  assembled.                       taxation system.

New Executive Committee members
There have been two recent changes to the Executive Committee, with Les Begley and Brendan Greene taking up the Area 7 and Area 12
positions, respectively. Sincere thanks are extended to Leonard O’ Donnell and Martin Killeen for their hard work and dedication on behalf
of members over the course of their terms of office.

Area 7                                                                  Area 12
ETB areas:                                                              C&C counties:
Kerry,                                                                  Cavan, Donegal, Galway,
Co. Limerick                                                            Leitrim, Longford, Mayo,
                                                                        Monaghan, Roscommon,
LES                                                                     Sligo and Westmeath
BEGLEY
(Youthreach/VTOS
                                                                        BRENDAN
centre, Killorglin Adult                                                GREENE
Learning Centre,                                                        (St Clare's Comprehensive
Killorglin, Co. Kerry)                                                  School, Manorhamilton,
                                                                        Co. Leitrim)
Elected unopposed
                                                                        Elected following a ballot of
Replaced Leonard                                                        members in Area 12
O’ Donnell as Area 7
representative.                                                         Replaced Martin Killeen as
                                                                        Area 12 representative

                                                                                                               www.tui.ie - TUI NEWS         7
News VOL.40 / NO.3 December 2017 - Teachers' Union of Ireland
TUI NEWS

8   December 2017 - TUI NEWS
News VOL.40 / NO.3 December 2017 - Teachers' Union of Ireland
TUI NEWS

     www.tui.ie - TUI NEWS   9
News VOL.40 / NO.3 December 2017 - Teachers' Union of Ireland
TUI NEWS

     Important dates to
     Annual Congress 2018
     15th September 2017
     Nomination forms for annual elections issued

     18th December 2017(R)
     Last date for receipt of motions from Branches, Executive
     Committee and Security Fund Committee to Head Office for
                                                                   27th March 2018(R)
                                                                   Last date for receipt of questions on the Annual Report and
     submission to Standing Orders Committee.
                                                                   Annual Accounts.
     8th January 2018
     Last date for receipt of nominations for positions of Vice-
                                                                   3rd April 2018 Annual Congress opens
                                                                   Note:
     President, Security Fund Committee (1 vacancy), Standing
                                                                    Rule 13 (ii) which reads as follows determines the number of
     Orders Committee for Areas 10 and 19 and Area
                                                                   delegates:
     Representatives for the following areas:
                                                                    “One delegate from each Branch of which the members in
     Area: 1    Wicklow, Kildare, Laois and Carlow
                                                                   benefit do not exceed thirty and one delegate for each
           3    Cavan, Monaghan, Louth and Meath
                                                                   fraction of thirty, as per the following table:
           5    Tipperary N.R., Clare and Limerick City
           7    Kerry, Limerick County
                                                                   Members                             Delegates
           9    Cork City and Cork County
          11    Galway City, Galway County and Mayo                  1 -     30                            1
          13    C&C Schools in Counties Cavan, Dublin, Kildare,     31 -     60                            2
                Louth, Meath, Monaghan, Wicklow                     61 -     90                            3
           15 Third Level Colleges – Dublin (excluding City),
                                                                    91 - 120                               4
                Louth, Monaghan, Cavan, Meath, Kildare, Offaly,
                Laois, Wicklow, Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford          121 - 150                               5
           17 Third Level Colleges - Cork, Tipperary and WIT       151 - 180                               6
           19 Third Level Colleges – Kerry, Limerick, Clare,       and so on”.
                Galway, Mayo.
     Please note that nominations will close at 2.30 p.m. on 8th
                                                                   In-benefit members for the purpose of arriving at the number
     January rather than 5.00 p.m.
                                                                   of delegates to the Annual Congress are fully paid-up
                                                                   members for the month of December whose subscriptions
                                                                   have been received by the General Secretary on or before the
     18th January 2018                                             last Friday in February, i.e. Friday, 23rd February 2018.
     Issue of ballot papers for elections
                                                                   Delegates to Annual Congress shall be elected by their
                                                                   Branches at the Annual General Meeting or at a properly
     30th January 2018(R)                                          convened Branch Meeting where the item appears on the
     Preliminary Agenda will issue to Branches
                                                                   Agenda
     5th February 2018                                             25th April 2018
     Last date for receipt of annual election ballot papers
                                                                   Last date for receipt of nominations for the position of
                                                                   President.
     13th February 2018(R)
     Last date for receipt of:
     ■ amendments to Preliminary Agenda
                                                                   11th May 2018
                                                                   Ballot papers for election of President will issue.
     ■ order of priority for motions in each section
     ■ names of delegates to Congress                              30th May 2018
                                                                   Last date for receipt of ballot papers for Presidential election.
     13th March 2018(R)
     The Final Agenda will issue; also the General Secretary's     Note: (R) = Under Rule
     Report; Balance Sheet and Financial Statement; names of
     delegates to Congress and the Branches represented.

10   December 2017 - TUI NEWS
TUI NEWS

                             Annual Congress 2018
                                               3rd – 5th April 2018
 Congress 2018 will take place in Wexford. It will be held in the Clayton
         Whites Hotel, Abbey Street, Ferrybank South, Wexford.
Reservations for accommodation during Annual Congress can
be made with the following hotels:

Maldron Hotel Wexford
Tel: 053 9172000
Email reception.wexford@maldronhotels.com
€100 per single room per night B&B
€75 per person sharing per night B&B in twin/double room
€25 per child from 5 – 14 years.
Bookings must be made before 6th February 2018 to avail of the
above rates.

Ferrycarrig Hotel
Tel: 053 9120999
Email reservations@ferrycarrighotel.com
€130 single room per night B&B
€70 per person sharing per night B&B
Children 0-3 years comp. 4-12 an extra €20 per child per
night B&B
Bookings must be made before 20th February 2018 to avail of the
                                                                  Reservations
above rates.                                                      Reservations should be made directly with the hotels. There
                                                                  are no booking forms required.
Talbot Hotel Wexford
Tel: 053 9122566
                                                                  Crèche
Email reservations@talbothotel.ie                                 Further information regarding the crèche, including application
€125 per single room per night B&B                                forms, will be sent to you at a later date.
€85 per person sharing per night B&B
Bookings must be made before 20th February 2018 to avail of the   Meals at Congress
above rates.                                                      All meals will be available in the Clayton Whites Hotel.

                                                                                                                                    11
                                                                                                      www.tui.ie - TUI NEWS
TUI NEWS

                                                             CROKE PAR
                                                                                 YOUR RIG
                                                                            RESPONSIBILIT
     As members are acutely aware, hours dedicated to specified school-related activities
     have become formalised over the past fifteen years, both through collective
     agreements, and, latterly by imposition.

     The Croke Park Hours commitments should be considered in conjunction with
     those set out in Circular Letter M58/04: Arrangements for Parent/Teacher and
     Staff Meetings.

     Circular Letter                           initial mechanism for scheduling the          It should be clearly noted that
                                               remaining 23 hours:                           consensus is required for all
     M58/04: Arrangements                                                                    blocks of hours exceeding 2
     for Parent/Teacher                        Paragraph 3 of Circular Letter                hours. Where the hours do not
                                               25/2011:                                      exceed 2 hours, consensus is not
     and Staff Meetings                                                                      required, although best practice is that
                                               (a)   School management may designate         the scheduling involves consultation
     • One staff meeting per term                    the usage of the… hours in blocks       with the teaching staff.
                                                     of 1 or 2 hours (save in the case of
     • Three formal parent/teacher                   additional parent/ teacher meetings     The circular also sets out the
       meetings per year                             where the existing time provisions      requirement that the school calendar
                                                     set out in Circular M58/04 will         be issued to staff at the
                                                     apply). Except as set out at (b)        commencement of the academic year
                                                     below, these will be scheduled over     (paragraph 8):
                                                     the course of the 167 day school
     Croke Park Hours                                year and the time period should be         The usage of the additional hours will
                                                     scheduled outside the normal school        be outlined as appropriate in the
     1. Hours on ‘a whole-                           hours.                                     school calendar which is made
        school basis’                                                                           available to the school community at
     The provisions of the Croke Park          (b)   Where there is a consensus                 the commencement of each school
     Agreement provided for a                        among the school staff to so               year.
     commitment of an additional 33 non-             do, school management may utilise
     teaching hours per school year for              all or part of the hours in question    Typical activities carried out on a
     teachers working in Post-Primary and            outside of the 167 days during          whole-school basis include
     Further Education settings. The terms           which the school is open for tuition.   supplementary parent/teacher
     of the agreement became operative               Similarly, where there is a             meetings, CPD for the whole staff,
     for schools in February 2011.                   consensus, school management may        supplementary staff meetings, open
                                                     utilise all or part of the hours in     nights/days etc.
     TUI has negotiated an increase to 10            blocks of more than 2 hours over
     (of the 33 hours) available that can be         the course of the 167 day school
     used on other than a whole-school               year. In such event, the time period
     basis (see next section).                       should be scheduled outside the
     Circular Letter 25/2011 sets out the            normal school hours.

12   December 2017 - TUI NEWS
TUI NEWS

RK HOURS
GHTS AND
 IES EXPLAINED

  2. Hours on ‘other than a                  For clarity, each whole-time
     whole-school basis’                     teacher is entitled to schedule 10       Part-time and
                                             of the 33 hours using their own          Job-Sharing Staff
  The most recent circular letter setting
                                             professional discretion. The
  out usage/scheduling of 10 of the 33                                                Job-Sharing and part-time staff
                                             reference to “up to and not in excess
  Croke Park hours on ‘other than a                                                   have a pro-rata obligation in
                                             of” is to enable a teacher to choose
  whole school basis’ is Circular Letter                                              respect of the Croke Park
                                             not to use all of the 10 hours for
  48/2017 which amended previous                                                      hours.
                                             planning and development work on
  circulars to clarify:
                                             other than a whole-school basis
                                             and to participate in more than          Jobs-sharing staff are expected
     …with effect from the beginning of                                               to (As set out in the Job-Sharing
                                             23 hours of whole-school events if
     the 2017/18 school year, an amount                                               Chapter of The Terms and
                                             they so wish.
     of time up to but not in excess of 10                                            Conditions of Employment for
     hours (of the 33 hours) will be                                                  Registered Teachers in
                                             Typical activities carried out on
     available for planning and                                                       Recognised Primary and Post
                                             other than a whole-school basis
     development work on other than a                                                 Primary Schools, Chapter
                                             include subject department
     whole-school basis and as approved by                                            9 – Job Sharing Scheme,
                                             planning, attendance at subject
     management.                                                                      Paragraph 6):
                                             association meetings, CPD in one’s
                                             own time etc.
  Best practice, in relation to the                                                   • Be present for 11.5 hours of
  verification and accountability to                                                    whole-school Croke Park
                                             For full details on the Croke
  management, and in relation to the                                                    hours
                                             Park Hours, see Circular Letters
  approval of management, is that each                                                • Undertake 5 hours of the
                                             25/2011, 43/2014 and 48/2017.
  teacher submits a plan for their                                                      Croke Park hours on
  personal usage of these hours to                                                      ‘other than a whole school
                                             For further details on
  management, early in the academic                                                     basis’.
                                             parent/teacher meetings and
  year, for approval. In order to assist
                                             staff meetings, see Circular
  management in accounting for these                                                  Part-time staff have a similar
                                             Letter M58/04
  hours, teachers should, where possible,                                             pro-rata obligation, dependent
  supply attendance certificates for CPD                                              on their quota of hours
  attended or a short minute of
  meetings held. A template for such a
  minute is appended to Circular Letter
  43/2014.

                                                                                               www.tui.ie - TUI NEWS      13
WINNERS WINNERS WINNERS
  Monthly Member Draw                                                    New Member Draw Winner
   PRIZES   AUGUST                          SEPTEMBER                     MONTH                  PRIZE                                       WINNER
   Car                                      Derek Long, South             August                 €100 One4All Voucher John Galvin
                                            Douglas Road, Cork
   1st      Edward Daly, Lucan,             Conor Goulding,
            Co. Dublin                      Rathmines, Dublin 6           September €100 One4All Voucher Alexander Durac
   2nd      John Lennox, Gorey,             Lorraine Byas,
            Co. Wexford                     Chapelizod, Dublin 20
   3rd      Ciaran O’Neill, Athlone,        Mary Enright,
            Co. Westmeath                   Moycullen, Co. Galway

                                                                                                             SCHOO
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  >ŽĂŶƐŝƐƐƵĞĚ͗Φϵ͘ϴŵ        Ï          ΦϮ͘ϰŵ   ϯϮй                                call to your place of work to promote your credit union
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  EĞǁDĞŵďĞƌƐ͗ϱϲϰ           Ï          ϭϳϳ     ϰϱ͘ϳй                              us an email to info@tuicu.ieŽƌŐŝǀĞƵƐĂĐĂůů͘

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ŽŵŵĞŶƟŶŐŽŶƚŚĞŐƌĞĂƚĂĐŚŝĞǀĞŵĞŶƚ͕Paul Roche, CEO of TUI Credit UnionƐĂŝĚ͞tĞĂƌĞƉƌŽƵĚƚŽďĞƉĂƌƚŽĨĂŵŽǀĞŵĞŶƚƚŚĂƚ
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                                                                                                                       We don’t roll out the red
                                                                                                                       carpet for just anyone...
                                                                                                                       WE ROLL IT OUT
                                                                                                                       FOR EVERYONE.
                                                                                                                       For the third year in a row,
                                                                                                                       credit unions have been voted
                                                                                                                       Number One for customer
                                                                                                                       experience.*

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                                                                    Credit Unions in the Republic of Ireland are regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.
                                                                                                                                                             Credit Union
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  WARNING: If you do not meet the repayments on your loan, your account will
 go into arrears. This may affect your credit rating which may limit your access to
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No 8, The Exchange, Calmount Park, Ballymount, Dublin 12. Tel: 01 4266060 Website www.tuicu.ie
                                                                                                 www.tuicu.ie
                  TUI Credit Union is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland
TUI NEWS

     Global Schoolroom programme extends to
     Sierra Leone and Kenya

     With a ten-year track record in India, Global Schoolroom,
     supported by TUI and the other teacher unions, is entering into an
     exciting new stage in its mission to eradicate poverty, promote
     economic development and build sustainable communities through
     the provision of quality education. For the first time, programmes
     are being introduced to Sierra Leone and Kenya.
     Pilot Teacher Education Programme, Sierra Leone, July
     2017
     Six Global Schoolroom tutors travelled to Sierra Leone in July for
     three weeks, where they worked with teachers from seven schools
     in the Bombali and Kono Districts. Approximately 120 teachers
     participated in seminars, workshops, lectures and other activities as
     part of Year 1 of the Global Schoolroom Teacher Education
     Programme. The teachers learned how to create effective learning
     environments. Classroom management skills, teaching
                                                                                This student in St Joseph’s School Makeni designed this poster to
     methodologies and educational psychology were amongst the
     other topics covered. The teachers are participating in Year 1 of a                     welcome the Global Schoolroom Tutors
     three-year programme with Global Schoolroom.                            Welcome from the Sisters of St Joseph of Cluny
     The Global Schoolroom tutors received a warm welcome from the           Global Schoolroom is working with schools that are under the
                                                                             patronage of the Sisters of St Joseph of Cluny in Sierra Leone. The
     teachers and the Sisters of St Joseph of Cluny in Sierra Leone. The
                                                                             sisters ensured that the Global Schoolroom tutors were
     students in the schools were very curious about the tutors from
                                                                             comfortable, safe and made feel welcome throughout their stay in
     Ireland and had lots of questions for them.
                                                                             Sierra Leone. Sr Catherine Jarra, the Provincial of the West African
     Official Opening of the Global Schoolroom Teacher                       Vice Province of the Sisters of St Joseph of Cluny, visited the Global
     Education Programme, Makeni, Sierra Leone, July 2017                    Schoolroom tutors and participating teachers to wish them every
     Ms Agnes Kamara, Deputy Director for Education in the Bombali           success with the programme. Sr Catherine Jarra, a former teacher,
     District, officially opened the Global Schoolroom Teacher               emphasised the importance of having well trained teachers in
     Education Programme in Makeni. As a representative of the               Sierra Leone to improve the education system in Sierra Leone.
     Minister for Education, she wished the teachers success in the
     completion of the Global Schoolroom Teacher Education
     Programme and she looks forward to seeing the positive results in
     the participating schools. She indicated that she would like to see
     Global Schoolroom’s teacher education programme delivered in
     many other schools in the Bombali District in the future.

                                                                               Sr Catherine Jarra, Provincial of the West African Vice Province of the
                                                                                                    Sisters of St Joseph of Cluny

                                                                                   TO APPLY FOR A PLACE ON THE GLOBAL
                                                                                              SCHOOLROOM
                                                                               2018 SUMMER PROGRAME FOR SIERRA LEONE
                                                                                        OR OTHER LOCATIONS
                                                                                     PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT
                                                                                 WWW.GLOBALSCHOOLROOM.NET AND
             School children looking forward to their school holidays           COMPLETE THE ONLINE APPLICATION FORM

16   December 2017 - TUI NEWS
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TUI NEWS

     The following text has been provided by the Teaching Council

     Retrospective Vetting Update
     The wellbeing of children and vulnerable          are asked to comply with both stages of the    process.You can take a screenshot of the
     persons is a central element of the               vetting application process in the 28 day      vetting status screen to present to your
     professional responsibility of teachers. This     timeframe specified in order for you to be     employer.
     is why the Teaching Council has included a        eligible to renew your registration on your
     requirement to be vetted as part of the           renewal date.                                  The DES Circular 0016/2017 sets out the
     registration process since 2007.                                                                 statutory requirements for the
                                                       Due to the high volume of applications that    retrospective vetting of teaching staff. The
     It is vitally important that we ensure that all   are being received and processed at            statutory vetting requirements for teachers
     registered teachers are vetted in order to        present, the turnaround time for               changing schools/jobs continue to apply as
     ensure continuing public confidence and           applications once received has increased       set out in DES Circular 31/2016.
     trust in the profession.                          from one week to approximately four
                                                       weeks.You can log in to the National Vetting   More information is available at the FAQ
     At present, 83% of the 97,000 teachers on         Bureau website and use your vetting            section of the Teaching Council website
     the Register have been vetted. Since the          application number to check the status of      which has Retrospective Vetting FAQs for
     start of 2017, the Teaching Council has           your application.                              teachers and Schools/Principals. The FAQ
     successfully facilitated the vetting of more                                                     section of the Department of Education and
     than 16,000 of the 32,000 registered              If you have been previously vetted through     Skills' website also provides information
     teachers who had not been previously              the Council, you are exempt from the           regarding the retrospective vetting process.
     vetted through the Council.                       retrospective vetting requirement.You can
                                                       check your vetting status by logging on to     The Council would like to thank you for
     On 11 September, the Council issued               the My Registration section of the Teaching    your cooperation and collaboration in
     notices to the remaining 16,500 registered        Council website www.teachingcouncil.ie. If     ensuring that the Register of teachers will
     teachers who are now required to be               your vetting status is “approved” then you     consist of 100% vetted teachers.
     vetted. If you are one of these teachers, you     are exempt from the retrospective vetting

     TUI Golf Society
     The TUI Golf Society finished its season with the playing                       The weather was beautiful, the golf very good and a great
     of the Captain’s (Denis Magner) Prize on 23rd                                    time was had by all, with many of the group expressing an
     September in Roscrea Golf Club. Though windy, it was                             interest in returning to the same place next year.
     an otherwise fine day but scoring was difficult.
                                                                                      The first event for the 2017/18 golfing year is a two day stay
     Results of the Captain’s Prize are as follows:                                  in Kells playing the new captain’s home courses of Headford
     • Winner of Men’s Cat 1 - Denis Magner                                         Old and New Courses at a cost of €175 per person sharing.
     • 2nd in Men’s Cat 1 – Gerry Kelly                                           New members are always welcome. The sub is €20 a year -
     • Winner of Men’s Cat 2 – Pat McNamara                                     payable to Subscription Secretary Tommy Buckley, 10 Verbena
     • 2nd in Men’s Cat 2 – Eugene O’Sullivan                                 Park Sutton, Dublin 13.
     • Winner of Ladies – Josephine Fitzpatrick
     • 2nd in Ladies- Angela Doherty                                          Thanks to Paul Roche, Austin Stewart and TUI Credit Union for
     • Captain’s Prize Winner – Tom Buckley                                   their support, especially for sponsoring the Golfer of the Year
                                                                              trophies. Please support the TUI Credit Union when saving or
     Results of Golfer of the Year                                            investing money.
     • 3rd Tom Buckley - 90 points
     • 2nd Kieran Walsh - 92 points
     • Winner – Denis Magner - 98 points

     The presentation was then followed by the AGM and the following
     were elected:
     Captain: Kieran Walsh
     Treasurer: Tommy Glynn
     Subscription Secretary: Tommy Buckley
     Time Sheet Organiser: Don Ryan
     Other Committee members: Denis Magner, Finola Butler,
     Angela Doherty and Paddy Hogan.

     The Golf Society had their annual trip abroad to Tavira in Portugal.
     They stayed at the four star Maria Nova Hotel and during the week
     they played at the following clubs: Benamor Golf Club, Quinta Da
     Vale Golf Club, Quinta Da Ria Golf Club and Castro Marim Golf
     Club.

18    December 2017 - TUI NEWS
TUI NEWS

Child Protection                                           Update on Curriculum
Update                                                     Development
In October 2017, Minister Zappone T.D., Minister           In Ireland, the power to prescribe the curriculum is vested in the Minister for
for Children and Youth Affairs, announced that all         Education and Skills under the Education Act 1998. However, such decisions
remaining provisions of the Children’s First Act           are informed by extensive work undertaken by the National Council for
2005 would be enacted from December 11th 2017.             Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA). A wide range of stakeholders is
                                                           represented on the NCCA including the teacher unions and management
The commencement of the provisions means that              bodies. Since the start of the 2017/2018 academic year, a number of
new obligations attach to organisations providing          developments of interest to TUI members have taken place, as summarised
services to children to prepare and publish a Child        below.
Safeguarding Statement. Child Safeguarding
Statements must be completed within three
months of the date of enactment. The enactment             Junior Cycle
of the provisions also means that a new legal
responsibility will now attach to ‘mandated                Specifications for Music, Geography, History and Home Economics
persons’. TUI members should note that ‘mandated           have recently been completed.
persons’ specifically includes teachers.                   A consultation process is also ongoing in relation to the the upcoming
                                                           revision of Religious Education, Classics, Maths and the suite of
Tusla has published a suite of documents to advise
                                                           Technology Subjects in Junior Cycle. Members are encouraged to read
organisations and staff in relation to the updated
                                                           the background paper and submit their views to the NCCA.
and expanded requirements. Those documents are
                                                           All relevant information is available at
available from the Tusla website at
                                                           http://www.juniorcycle.ie/Curriculum/Consultation
www.tusla.ie/publications.
The TUI has been in discussions with the
Department of Education and Skills regarding the           Leaving Certificate
revised obligations. The TUI has repeatedly asked
for training to be provided to schools, teachers and       A consultation process will soon open for Applied Maths.
boards of management to ensure that all                    The specification for Economics has recently been completed.
stakeholders are aware of their responsibilities, and
to ensure that all children are protected. These
discussions continue but the TUI is deeply
concerned that the DES has not yet clarified what,
if any, training is going to be provided. The TUI has
made clear that, in the absence of training in how
                                                           Leave of absence following
to determine whether a ‘reasonable concern’ of
abuse exists, all members should report any
                                                           assault
suspected cases of child abuse to the Designated           Following extensive negotiations, a scheme providing leave of absence for
Liaison Person as soon as possible. Members                teachers following assault has been agreed between the DES, teacher unions
should note that all schools must have a Designated        and school management bodies. This scheme is separate from the general sick
Liaison Person, usually the Principal Teacher, and a       leave scheme.
Deputy Liaison Person, usually the Deputy Principal
Teacher or Guidance Counsellor. Real concern               This issue had been pursued by TUI officials with the DES for a number of
exists that, despite the best efforts of staff involved,   years, and the scheme will be in place for an initial two years on a pilot basis.
Tusla does not have the resources available to deal,
in a timely fashion, with any increased number of          Full details are set out in Circular Letter 61/2017, which provides for:
reports of suspected abuse that may arise due to
the revised reporting requirements.                        •   A recording of incidents of assault.

Tusla has provided an online training module on its        •   Assault leave to be available where there is a medically certified physical
website for all people and organisations working               injury requiring absence from work.
with children. The TUI has welcomed this online            •   Provision for up to three months’ assault leave at full pay in a rolling four-
module but has made clear that it cannot substitute            year period (with an extension to six months on full pay in exceptional
for face-to-face training that allows teachers, school         circumstances).
leaders and school boards of management to ask
‘what if’ questions.                                       •   Substitute cover for assault-related absences.
The TUI continues to discuss with the DES the              •   A teacher’s sick leave record not being affected by such absences.
issues of training, legal responsibility, and the
availability of information. In the meantime, the TUI      How can a teacher apply for assault leave?
urges members to familiarise themselves with the
revised obligations. The TUI will update members           An application form (Appendix A of Circular 61/2017) must be completed by
when further information becomes available.                the teacher concerned and by the employer and forwarded by the employer
                                                           to the Department/ETB within a week of the incident occurring.

                                                                                                                 www.tui.ie - TUI NEWS          19
TUI NEWS

     Palestinian school supported by TUI
     destroyed on eve of new school year
     By Muireann de Barra,TUI member

     The start of the school year was expected
     to be a happy one for the children of
     remote Palestinian West Bank village, Jubbet
     Al Dheeb, with the opening of a new school
     built with the support of the TUI Third
     World Development Fund, the EU and
     International NGOs, among others.
     Hopes were dashed, however, when news
     broke on the morning of what was to be its
     first day, that the school had been
     dismantled and chairs and tables confiscated
     overnight by order of Israeli authorities.
     This left families, teachers and the wider
     community in shock. It is reported that the
     confiscation order was presented on the
     same night as the demolition.
     The school was built to relieve children of
     the burden of having to walk an hour each          TUI member Muireann de Barra at the proposed site of the school at Jubbet Al Dheeb with
     way to the nearest school, while the                                       community members in April 2017
     prospect of a new school offered hope of a
     sustainable future for the children.            ‘epitomises the administrative cruelty and      construction in Area C, which comprises
     The wilful destruction of the school            systematic harassment by authorities            more than 60 percent of the West Bank,
     received international media attention          designed to drive Palestinians from their       requires a building permit, 98.5 percent of
     (CNN, Independent UK, Al Jazeera) and was       land’.                                          which are denied according to the UN.
     widely condemned. Belgium demanded that         Israel defended its actions by saying the       Commenting on the destruction of the
     the Israeli authorities provide ‘explanations   school was built without the necessary          school, TUI President Joanne Irwin
     as well as compensation’ to the community.      permissions. The community has since            described it as ‘repressive’ and ‘repugnant to
     The EU also condemned Israel’s actions.         submitted a planning application to build a     the values of true educators and an
     Israeli Human rights organisation B’Tselem      permanent school on the site. Any               outrageous attack on children’s rights.’
     criticised the actions saying that it

     Visiting Palestine
     By Billy Fitzpatrick, former President,TUI
     From the roof of ‘The Star’ hotel in            all the schools - primary, secondary and         TUI members, and for union members
     Bethlehem, an Israeli sniper team fixed         even kindergartens – in the city. For            to cease all academic cooperation with
     on a randomly-chosen student in the             three years.                                     Israel.
     nearby University of Bethlehem. 18-year-
                                                     For these and other related events over          Recently, I was part of a visiting Irish
     old Ishaq Abu Sror collapsed to the
                                                     a prolonged period, Palestinian civil            group that stayed in the same hotel
     ground, shot through the heart.
                                                     society called for a worldwide boycott           referred to above.
     University students and staff took
                                                     of the Israeli state, including its academic
     to the streets in protest. Thus began the                                                        On our first one-hour visit to the
                                                     institutions. In 2013, TUI Congress
     first Intifada (‘casting-off’), a series of                                                      childrens’ education and hobby centre in
                                                     carried a resolution calling for the ICTU
     largely non-violent strikes and                                                                  the Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem, we
                                                     to intensify its campaign for boycott,
     demonstrations.                                                                                  were collateral victims of two gas
                                                     divestment and sanctions (BDS) against
                                                                                                      attacks carried out by the Israeli army
     The Israeli government responded to             the apartheid state of Israel until it lifted
                                                                                                      on stone-throwing kids in the street
     the protests by shutting down the               its illegal siege of Gaza and its illegal
                                                                                                      outside. This is not teargas, we were told,
     university, for three years. They showed        occupation of the West Bank, and agreed
                                                                                                      but a type of CS gas banned in Europe.
     contempt to world opinion, outraged at          to abide by International law. It also
     the course of events. They closed down          called for an awareness campaign among           Our programme was multi-faceted and

20    December 2017 - TUI NEWS
TUI NEWS

we took in a visit to the Jewish Settlement                                                                                       Palestinians. We had to walk in single file
of Kiryat Arba, near Hebron. We learned                                                                                           down its ‘streets’. The inhabitants’ discipline,
that most settlers come from abroad,                                                                                              pride and orderliness are astonishing.
mainly the USA and Russia. The rabbi was                                                                                          However, a gas attack here can have serious
from Chicago. We heard elsewhere that                                                                                             consequences.
low-income workers in Israeli, who cannot
                                                                                                                                  Palestinian refugees have had to endure this
afford house prices there, are also
                                                                                                                                  Kafkaesque nightmare for almost seventy
encouraged to transfer to the settlements
                                                                                                                                  years now. Nevertheless, a common refrain
in occupied Palestine. They are all given
                                                                                                                                  from West Bank community leaders
Palestinian land, mortgage-free, and the
                                                                                                                                  throughout the week was that things were
foreigners granted Israeli citizenship rights
                                                                                                                                  ‘infinitely worse in Gaza’.
simply by claiming to be of Jewish descent
or, alternatively, by converting to Judaism on                                                                                    On the final night, our Bethlehem tour
application. A former student of mine from                                                                                        company hosted a dinner and a
Crumlin in Dublin is one such settler.                                                                                            performance by a traditional Palestinian
                                                                                                                                  dance troupe. As we left, a scattering of
We found that even Palestinian Special
                                                                                                                                  Palestinian kids clapped us out calling ‘Bye,
Needs centres are subject to harassment
                                                                                                                                  bye, we love you!’ Walking a few paces
and the dreaded ‘permits’ regime. We
                                                                                                                                  ahead of us, I could see that fellow TUI
visited one on the outskirts of Jerusalem
                                                                                                                                  member, Finbar Geaney, was deeply
the day before the children were due to
                                                                                                                                  affected. For him and others this was
take a few days holiday in the Jordan Valley.
                                                                                                                                  probably the hardest moment of all.
The permits still hadn’t arrived by mid-
afternoon. This happens every single year,                                                                                        Note: members can access an Irish Times
the director told us, so that nobody can                                                                                          report by a former RTE broadcaster, who
ever relax or look forward.                                                                                                       was a member of our group. Search words:
                                                                  Former Executive Committee member                               Mike Murphy, Degradation of the Palestinians,
We visited a refugee camp, this time near                     Finbar Geaney holds spent gas cartridge on the                      Irish Times.
Nablus. The camp is one kilometre square                             roof of the Aida Children's Centre
in area and is home to 28,000 displaced

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                                                                                                                                                  www.tui.ie - TUI NEWS              21
TUI NEWS

           TUI PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

                      PRE-RETIREMENT SEMINAR
                 DATE                           VENUE                  TICk BOx FOR
                                                                     PREFERRED VENUE

       Monday 29th January, 2018          The Gresham Hotel,
       9.00am - 4.30pm                          Dublin

       Thursday 15th March 2018         The Hodson Bay Hotel,
       9.00am - 4.30pm                        Athlone,
                                           Co. Westmeath

      Places are limited and will be allocated on a first-come first-served basis.
      Please ensure you complete this form in full and return to the address below.
      Alternatively, you may email the completed Application Form for the attention of
      Liz Daly/Carol Ryan to: reception@tui.ie

                                        APPLICATION FORM

       Name

       School/College                                               Telephone Number

       Email Address

                                TUI, 73 Orwell Road, Rathgar, Dublin 6

                        Telephone: (01) 4922588 (Press 0) Fax: (01) 4922953

22   December 2017 - TUI NEWS
TUI NEWS

RMA News
The season of change – autumn – has             blood too. This year over 40 new members        As I write this I am looking forward to
arrived, but in some regards little has         have joined already, but we know that there     welcoming my RMA colleagues and friends
changed as we are still lobbying for pension    are many more out there. On behalf of the       to the Boyne Valley Hotel for our Autumn
restoration and the repeal of Financial         RMA Officers and Management Committee,          Break. On March 20th, 21st and 22nd 2017
Emergency Measures in the Public Interest       I want to thank the President,Vice-             we are heading to the South West for our
(FEMPI) Act.                                    President, General Secretary and the TUI        spring break in the Celtic Ross Hotel
                                                Area Representatives for their work in          Rosscarbery Co. Cork, more details in our
Through our membership of the Alliance of       encouraging retirees to join the RMA, and       next issue and these details will be on our
Retired Public Servants we have been busy       their help in encouraging Branches to fund      website www.rmatui.ie shortly. I am very
on your behalf during the past few months.      the first year’s subscription for new RMA       grateful to our former Chairperson
Officers of the Alliance met with               members.                                        Jim McCarthy for details on the recent
Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform                                                      Croatia trip.
Paschal Donohoe in July and the current
situation is as follows:

Pre-March 2012 Retirees                          Croatia Trip
No change to the timetable for the removal       This year, for the first time, the
of Public Servants Pension Reduction
                                                 RMA linked up with the Travel
(PSPR).
Everyone with a pension below €34,132            Department to make a break
will, from January 2018 be exempt from           abroad available to members. This
PSPR, that is 80% of all Public Servants.        7-night half board break was in
Parity with serving peers is retained for the    Istria in Northern Croatia, on the
lifetime of the Public Service Stability         Adriatic Coast, and took place in
Agreement (PSSA).                                mid-September. There were 10 in
No timetable for the removal of PSPR on          the RMA group, out of a total of 47
pensions over €34,132.                           in the full Travel Department group.
                                                 Members from the following                          RMA members in Croatia
Post-February 2012                               counties were there: Carlow, Cavan,
The injustice of having pension based on
                                                 Dublin, Kildare, Meath and Tipperary, and it was a very enjoyable break. We were based
reduced salary has been recognised, and
those affected will receive pension increases    in Porec, a very historic town and attractive resort, with excellent walking routes. We
in line with the pay increases received by       stayed in the Valamar Hotel Crystal, which was a very good choice, with helpful staff,
their serving peers.                             comfortable rooms and good food.

Low Paid Public Sector                           Our first organised outing was a guided walking tour of Porec. Later on, there was a
                                                 very interesting day trip to Pula, the capital of Istria, which has many Roman
Pensioners                                       architectural remains, including an amphitheatre which is the sixth largest surviving
Low paid public sector pensioners will gain      Roman arena in the world. On the way back, we visited Motovun, an ancient hilltop
under parity. Any increase applied to their      village. Another day trip involved a boat tour to Rovinj, a beautiful hilly town, with
serving peer will apply to them.
                                                 sightings of dolphins on the way back.
Branch meetings
So far this term, branch meetings have taken     It is hoped to organise another continental break for members next year in conjunction
place in Galway, Cork, Carlow, Louth, the        with the Travel Department.
Midlands, The South East, Wicklow and
Meath. I would remind members that our
constitution allows a member to participate
in whichever branch is nearest to them.           By now all RMA members have received their TUI Diary. But remember, if you don’t
                                                  pay your subscription, don’t expect to be on the mailing list in future. We encourage
This time of the year is also time for Branch
                                                  members whose pensions are paid by PSSC (retirees from VECs/ETBs/IoTs) to
AGMs. Branch Officers should update us            complete the ‘consent’ form available on www.rmatui.ie and send it to our Treasurer, or
when there are changes, and perhaps should        any Officer of the RMA.
take a look at the constitution on the
website regarding requirements. If funding is     Finally, I want to encourage all retired TUI members to:
required from the RMA, the Branch                 a) join RMATUI if you haven’t already done so and
Treasurer should submit a statement of            b) attend at least some RMA Branch meetings.
expenditure for the year. This should be
submitted in any event after the Branch           Most branches have a social and/or cultural dimension, with theatre/cinema visits, guest
AGM.                                              speakers at meetings, Christmas lunches, trips and so on. National Officers of the RMA
                                                  regularly attend the local meetings to provide updates on the work of the Management
The membership of the RMA is constantly           Committee, our dialogue with TUI and reports from the Alliance of Retired Public
changing. Each year, members pass, others         Servants.
forget to renew, but of course we get new
                                                  Dan Keane, RMA Secretary

                                                                                                                www.tui.ie - TUI NEWS         23
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