The Teachers’ Union of Ireland has accepted a proposed agreement which aimed to address the issues that led to the rejection of the Lansdowne Road Agreement (LRA).

Union members voted last night to accept by a margin of 63% to 37%.

The union said that a key to accepting was the expectation that the “scandal of discriminatory pay” that affects new teachers would be dealt with.

The acceptance means that the union members effectively accept the LRA – which they will be covered under from July 1.

The teachers will be entitled to benefits including pay restoration and protection from compulsory redundancy.

“The accepted agreement, which addresses issues which were not dealt with by the LRA, provides tangible concessions as well as additional stepping stones for further progress on workload, staffing and funding, terms and conditions, bureaucracy and professional autonomy,” the union stated.

The union also highlighted a number of other measures within the accepted agreement, including:

From January 2017 – one less ‘flex’ teaching hour in Institutes of Technology as an initial measure.
Greater teacher autonomy in usage of ‘Croke Park’ hours (increase from five to 10 hours per annum; not whole-school and in blocks of 30 minutes).
Progress towards appropriate contracts/terms and conditions in Adult, Further Education and Youthreach.

Commitment by the Department of Education and Skills to reducing bureaucracy (in preparation for inspections, Quality Assurance etc.).

An immediate review of the process for allocating new teaching hours to existing staff.