“Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom.”
George Washington Carver
Teachers are caught in the horns of a dilemma.
On one hand, teachers tend to be deeply rules-based. Schools are societies which depend on rules, and teachers propagate, enforce and embody these rules. Bells mark out the school day, and policies and procedures describe how every eventuality which occurs in the school day will be managed. Everything is organised, structured and familiar. Everyone knows what’s expected of them, and when.
But teachers break the rules every day through how they ignore their own contract and employment rights.
Teachers come into work early and leave late. They bring work home with them, and spend much of their free time at weekends and holidays working on their primary job too. And every minute of this overtime is unpaid.
Think1265 asks teachers a very simple question:
If you spend your days ensuring that all the rules, policies and procedures of your school are followed by wee Jonny and all the rest of his classmates…
… then why don’t you apply the same rigour to the rules, policies and procedures governing your own job?
This section outlines the rights you have as teachers, the majority of which have been negotiated over many years by the Northern Ireland Teaching Council on your behalf. Starting with the Jordanstown Agreement of 1987, through to the soon to be released TNC 2024/04 Pay and Workload Agreement, your contractual obligations and rights are laid out in considerable detail.
These rights exist principally for one reason only: to protect your welfare by building a positive work-life balance.
By ignoring these negotiated rights you put your welfare at risk.
It’s that simple.
These are legally binding agreements between our employers and ourselves. Employers should be following their obligations in both the letter and spirit of these agreements, and teachers should be careful to ensure that their rights are being upheld. Moreover, teachers should be confident enough to discuss issues concerning workload and time budgets with their employer.
But before managers can discharge their obligations properly, and before teachers can ensure that their rights are being upheld, both sides need to understand the decades of agreements which have been made. This section of the site is designed to help staff understand what their rights are.
Designed and produced by teachers and trade unionists. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information on this site, members and representatives are advised to contact their own trade union reps before taking action which might leave them in breach of contract. © 2024 think1265