Teachers begin work‑to‑rule action on UNESCO World Teachers’ Day

Primary and secondary teachers across Ireland have started a work‑to‑rule campaign on Monday, October 5, as part of a wider public service dispute over pay.

The action, organised by the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) and the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland (ASTI), coincides with UNESCO World Teachers’ Day. Staff will continue teaching and learning during core school hours, but will not provide supervision before or after school and will limit access to school grounds to those hours.

ASTI President Richie Bell said teachers’ pay has fallen significantly behind inflation and that members have strongly endorsed the public‑service‑wide campaign, which could later include strike action to secure credible talks with the Government.

The teachers’ work‑to‑rule follows a similar move by more than 100,000 public and civil servants who began the same type of action last week in hospitals and local authorities, including SIPTU members in thirty hospitals such as Letterkenny University Hospital and over 90,000 members of the Fórsa trade union.

The initial phase is set to expand to a public‑service‑wide day of strike action on Wednesday, October 14.

Source: Donegal Daily. Photo: Bogdan Krupin / Pexels.