Autism school faces industrial action in row over hours
Published 11/02/2017 | 02:30
A Dublin school which educates children with autism is facing industrial action by special needs assistants in a dispute over working hours.
The workers voted yesterday for industrial action in response to written warnings being issued by the Saplings School in Rathfarnham.
The row concerns the scheduling of time for the special needs assistants to provide information on the pupils' daily progress on tasks undertaken by the children. This process is known as charting.
The assistants are members of the Impact union and are claiming that the school's board of management has made demands concerning these duties that result in them being expected to work in excess of their contracted hours of employment.
The school's board of management refuted this assertion and stated that the work can be carried out within the designated hours of their employment contracts.
A union spokesman said last night threats of dismissal received by individuals would be the subject of an appeal to be made by the union to the school's board of management.
A spokesman for the board of management said it was necessary that a "nationally agreed set of grievance procedures" be invoked in the dispute.
Irish Independent
