by Some schools may be forced to close this winter as a result of ventilation and heating problems, a trade union is expected to warn when it addresses politicians at an Oireachtas committee hearing later this morning.
Representatives from four trade unions representing teachers and other school workers are due before the Joint Committee on Education to discuss the safe running of schools under Covid-19.
All three teacher unions have expressed concern, in submissions sent in advance to committee members, around the ability of schools to keep classrooms both well ventilated and warm over the coming months.
Studies have shown that good air circulation is vital in preventing the build-up of airborne particles of the Covid-19 virus indoors.
As the winter sets in the Teachers’ Union of Ireland will tell politicians that many second level school buildings are not fit for purpose. The union says air quality metres should be installed in every classroom, to ensure that students and teachers are not forced to teach and learn in freezing cold classrooms.
The Association of Secondary Teachers has echoed that call. It says its research shows that 84% of schools where it has members do not have a dedicated ventilation system.
Primary teachers’ union, the Irish National Teachers Organisation, has also expressed concern that a grant given to schools last week, to allow for minor works to be carried out, will not be sufficient to allow them to install air-monitoring systems.
The INTO will tell the committee that while problems encountered by schools are now being dealt with more efficiently and effectively by public health officials, schools in border regions continue to encounter difficulties. General Secretary John Boyle is expected to say that school principals in these regions need extra support because of “a disconnect” between the HSE and its equivalent in Northern Ireland, the HSC.
The teacher unions will also warn that additional funding for cleaning is needed. The INTO will say that extra funding given to schools is totally inadequate and will be spent by Christmas.
The trade union representing Special Needs Assistants, Fórsa, is expected to focus heavily on the issue of face masks for its members.
The union will tell politicians it remains concerned at the lack of clarity regarding the provision of PPE to schools staff, and specifically to SNA’s and Bus Escorts who accompany children with disabilities on public transport. The union is concerned that many of these workers are not being provided with proper protective masks.
Workers who are providing intimate physical care to students are entitled to be provided with masks but Fórsa says this has led to a “ridiculous” situation whereby an SNA working side by side with a student for over six hours is only entitled to the protection of a basic grade mask when taking the student to the toilet.
The ASTI and the TUI are also expected to welcome a new inspection regime to monitor the safe implementation of Covid-19 prevention measures in schools. The TUI will call for the inspections, currently being piloted, to be rolled out nationwide.
The union believes that a minority of schools are not adhering to public health measures, and it will say that in such cases compliance must be enforced. The inspections are a joint initiative between the Department of Education and the Health and Safety Authority.
Over the course of their discussion with politicians this morning, trade union leaders will also be hoping to draw attention to a number of other concerns felt by their members. They include the issue of staff with high risk health conditions who are obliged to continue to attend for work in schools, as well as the long running issue of equal pay for teachers who joined the profession within the past decade.
