Stormy Times Ahead for Education INTO News Get up Stand Up
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February 2015 Stormy times ahead for education INTO News Get Up Stand Up INTO is a trade union, which at its heart is lobbying, emailing and letter writing. The tumn Statement. This will involve the INTO committed to the preservation and responses of our local politicians ranged continuing to campaign and organise promotion of social justice. At the end of from the supportive to disinterested. The against cuts which, if enacted, will reduce November the draft Budget for Education enormity of the INTO’s response seemed to our education system to a Dickensian was published and it was inevitable that it have taken them back and established a monochrome experience for our young would provoke the visceral reaction it did new record for a response to a consultation; people and those teachers who remain. amongst INTO members indeed, if the consultation INTO members across the north, with the and indeed the wider period had been of the support of our colleagues in the Republic, education community. The statutory length they are prepared to engage in what is going to Northern Committee of the might well have received be a difficult and prolonged campaign of union moved with double the 21,000 opposition to these proposed cuts. It is remarkable speed to responses officially important that our members understand challenge the threat this acknowledged. INTO’s that what we face now and over the next draft budget posed to the Northern Committee has four years is year on year job losses and provision of education demonstrated, by cuts. These cuts have not arisen simply as a across the north. They saw, engaging in this activity, result of a reduction in the block grant. before others in the trade that politicians in Stormont Rather, they are the outworking of the union movement, that are not immune to public ideology of the Conservative Party’s “think what was being proposed pressure no matter how tanks” which seek to remove reliance on would undermine the remote they can at times the state whilst purportedly incentivising educational advances appear. the individual to assume ever increasing achieved for young people Cuts of £162 million to levels of responsibility for themselves. One of the north. Furthermore, the education budget have manifestation of this idea is a reduction in it was apparent to the Gerry Murphy, now been reduced to cuts public spending, and a promotion of Northern Committee that Northern Secretary of £90 million. This reduc- austerity. The challenge INTO members teachers, whose hard work tion would not have been face is that in order to successfully combat and sacrifice had delivered these positive achieved without INTO taking a campaign- the present government’s austerity advances, were to suffer further with jobs ing stand against the draft budget. While it programme, we must undermine it and and professional support subjected to a is right to acknowledge the success that expose its limitations, while simultaneously fifth year of cuts. this represents, effectively reducing the offering an alternative credible option. It was hardly surprising that when INTO cuts in the 15/16 year by close to 50%, it is Furthermore, INTO must consider how our organised a series of public meetings to important to realise that our success is a response fits with the demands of broader provide a forum for teachers to come qualified one. The remaining £90 million in society in a way that draws support from a together and express their anger, that cuts will still have to be extracted from an wider base than we have previously hundreds of teachers, parents and education system already reeling from a considered necessary. colleagues employed in a support role in cycle of cuts dating back to 2010/11. Not INTO is determined to be successful. We schools turned our across the North to only is it imperative that INTO continues to will support our colleagues in the wider articulate their anger. The INTO resist the remaining cuts, we must steel trade union movement whose jobs are consolidated these public meetings with a ourselves for four more years of Tory in- threatened. Our campaign against the draft concerted lobbying campaign via social spired cuts to public service provision as Budget prior to Christmas is cause for us to media and the more traditional personal signalled by George Osbourne in the Au- be optimistic that we can succeed. Never- Committee Information Area Branches Name Surname Title Mobile INTO Email CEC 1 District 1 0101-0113 Mary Cahillane CEC Representative 07522100726 [email protected] CEC 2 District 2 0201-0217 Dorothy McGinley CEC Representative 07736550457 [email protected] BFC Paddy McAllister BFC Representative 07828769034 [email protected] NEP NEELB Primary 0101/0102/0104/0107/0109/0111 Mark McTaggart INTO Northern Committee 07505113560 [email protected] NES NEELB Post-Primar 0101/0102/0104/0107/0109/0111 Seamus Hanna INTO Northern Committee 07720 775425 [email protected] SEP SEELB Primary 0110/0113 Brendan Sadlier INTO Northern Committee 07793243954 [email protected] SES SEELB Post Primary 0110/0113 Frank Quinn INTO Northern Committee 07969672616 [email protected] BP BELB Primary A 0106 Caroline McCarthy INTO Northern Committee 07977935988 [email protected] BP BELB Primary B 0105 Una Herdman INTO Northern Committee 07738833672 [email protected] BS BELB Post-Primary 0105/0106 Des McDonagh INTO Northern Committee 07508784486 [email protected] SP SELB Primary A 0202/0206/0208/0217 Mary Dorman INTO Northern Committee 07733020269 [email protected] SP SELB Primary B 0201/0203/0211/0214 Cathy Crozier INTO Northern Committee 07763197253 [email protected] SS SELB Post-Primary 0201/0202/0203/0206/0208/0211/0214/0217 Kevin Daly INTO Northern Committee 07568528951 [email protected] WP WELB Primary A 0209/0213/0215/0216 Paul Groogan INTO Northern Committee 07857851969 [email protected] WP WELB Primary B 0207/0212 Annette Comey INTO Northern Committee 07834380550 [email protected] WS WELB Post-Primary 0207/0209/0212/0213/0215/0216 Annmarie Conway INTO Northern Committee 07701049789 [email protected] 2 Printout February 2015 INTO News Forthcoming Events theless, we must be careful not to become bers to mandate the union to initiate a se- complacent. It is reasonable to expect that ries of actions short of strike. These actions not only will we have to survive attacks will involve us in undertaking industrial ac- from the establishment, but we will also tion designed to frustrate the working of need to manage our own expectations and the employers and the Department of Edu- INTO Pre- Retirement those of our supporters. cation. These bodies cannot expect to facili- Seminars The pathway we are set on is one that tate reductions in the numbers of teachers, will demand discipline and an acceptance reduce the level of support to schools, pre- Thurs 5 February 2015 that there will be no quick fix. INTO has side over increases in class sizes and contin- Tullylagan Hotel, Cookstown, been engaged in helping to lay the ground ue to make ever increasing demands of 4-6pm work for such a campaign in the weeks INTO members without a serious backlash. since the draft Education and Executive INTO actions will also focus on the issue Thurs 12 February 2015 Budgets were published. Now that the of how our education system is funded and City Hotel, Derry, budgets have been passed by the adminis- the place it has in broader socio-economic 4-6pm tration at Stormont, it has fallen to INTO policy. We will seek to place this issue in the again to take the lead in the next step in forefront of the opinion formers and policy Tues 3 March 2015 this campaign .We are not prepared to see makers’ minds. It will also contribute to Adair Arms Hotel, Ballymena, what will amount to the loss of another challenging that flawed ideology men- 4-6pm thousand teaching posts to our education tioned previously. More importantly in the system neither can we simply acquiesce as short term it will ensure that INTO members Thurs 2 April 2015 the level of service provision is reduced will not have the inevitable service shortfall Northern Office, Belfast, again across the education system. It is im- thrust on them with the resultant increased 1.30 – 4pm perative we prevent the integrity of the sys- workload. tem from being weakened further so that It is vital that INTO members complete when the recovery comes we are better and return their ballot papers. It is essential placed to take advantage of the opportuni- that we all work together to maximise turn Northern Conference ties this will present. out and secure the necessary mandates for To this end, INTO will, in the first week in action. Over the next weeks your Branch Fri 27 Feb – Sat 28 Feb 2015: February be asking every INTO member in officers and Northern Committee members Radisson Roe Hotel, the north to cast their ballot in favour of in- will be in touch to inform and support you Limavady dustrial action. Members will also be asked through the process. Should you not to give a mandate to INTO to call them out receive a Ballot paper please contact your on strike as part of a trade union wide day Branch officers who will ensure you get a of action on March 13th. Unlike the previous ballot. The INTO commitment to social School Representative trade union wide action, INTO has been justice is absolute and a successful Ballot Event central to ensuring this will be more than a supporting the Northern Committees one day event. We supported this proposal position will confirm this. A resounding Fri 15 May – Sat 16 May 2015: on the basis there would be a genuine and level of support for industrial action will The Manor House Country Hotel, prolonged campaign which may involve also encourage our trade union colleagues Enniskillen further withdrawal of labour should that be and signal the beginning of the end for necessary.