Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Teachers Union of Ireland is here today because the Government has failed to act on the Labour Court recommendations in respect of adult education tutors. The Labour Court made its recommendation back in March 2020 but still no offer has been made to these tutors. There are approximately 2,500 full-time adult education tutors. Despite most being full-time, they are employed on a part-time basis. There are different rates of pay for tutors depending on the education and training board employs them. They are mostly paid at an unregistered teacher's rate despite the fact that many are fully qualified teachers registered with the Teaching Council. By far the biggest issue is that their hours are capped at 22 hours of class contact time per week. They are not paid for any preparatory or other work. They are forced to sign on the dole for summer, Christmas and Easter. They deserve a proper contract of employment. In March 2020, almost three years ago, the Labour Court recommended that the Department of Education make the tutors an offer. In June last year, the Minister of State, Deputy Niall Collins, stated that he expected his Department to be in a position to make a proposal. What has caused the delay? When will this be changed?

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