November 29th: English Language Teachers organised by trade union Unite today (Wednesday) met with the Minister of State for Higher Education, Mary Mitchell O’Connor TD, to highlight their concerns regarding abuses of workers’ rights in the thriving ELT sector.  The meeting lasted for about an hour.

Speaking afterwards, Unite Regional Organiser Roy Hassey said:

“We appreciated Minister Mitchell O’Connor meeting us.  Today’s meeting allowed English Language Teachers to outline their concerns regarding labour abuses in the sector, including bogus self-employment.  We also re-iterated our view that the forthcoming Qualifications and Quality Assurance (Amendment) Bill, which provides for an International Education Mark, should also establish minimum employment standards for English Language Teachers.

“We are pleased that the Minister took our concerns on board and agreed that the issues raised need to be addressed.  Unite ELT is working to ensure that the thriving English Language Teaching sector not only provides a quality service to students, but also provides quality jobs for teachers”, Mr Hassey concluded.