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UPDATED: 9/20/20 8.30am
The main union for secondary school teachers has said it will vote in favor of a strike over concerns about staff safety.
The central executive committee of the Association of Secondary Teachers of Ireland (ASTI) said it met on Saturday and decided to vote its members on a number of “key issues” that had emerged since the schools reopened.
Issues include physical distancing in schools, provision of personal protective equipment, definition of close contacts, testing and response times, provisions for high-risk teachers, and information technology resources for students and teachers to facilitate remote teaching and learning.
“The fact that high-risk teachers have been asked to work in crowded classrooms is unacceptable to us as a union,” ASTI President Ann Piggott said in a statement.
“The safety of students and their teachers must be the priority.”
The union has yet to decide whether to vote for members to strike. A spokeswoman told The Irish Times that nothing had been ruled out at this time.
Second-level schools reopened in early September after having been closed since mid-March as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The union’s general secretary, Ciaran Christie, said more resources are needed.
“The primary concern is the safety and welfare of [staff] and his students. Teachers want to work in a safe Covid workplace and the arrangements that have been put in place are operated variably in some schools and we need more effort and more resources. “
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