Fórsa has called for a clear timetable to complete the reorganisation of the county’s education and training boards (ETBs), saying that failure to complete the programme four years after new structures were established is sowing “uncertainty over the future direction of local services.”

In its submission on the education department’s 2019-2021 strategy statement, the union also calls for accelerated recruitment of educational psychologists to meet the department’s target of 238 ‘whole-time equivalents’ (WTEs). It says there are currently only 181 WTEs in the National Educational Psychologist Service (NEPS), and that just eight psychologists have been appointed since 2016.

Fórsa’s submission also sets down practical proposals to deal with gender pay equality in higher education. The union calls for a full pay audit in each institution in the sector, and says a job evaluation scheme is needed to ensure that pay structures are gender neutral.

It also addresses school secretaries’ pay and proposed changes to the SNA scheme, saying that the department is falling down on consultation over school pilots.

“Due to the complex nature of the suggested changes, Fórsa suggests that a forum – involving the NCSE, the department of Education and Skills and the HSE – be established to discuss this new model and issues like the education framework for proposed new inclusion specialists,” it says.

Read the submission here.