Teachers’ unions have voted to hold ballots for strike action if the Government refuses to make a U-turn on its decision not to prioritise teachers for the Covid-19 vaccine.
The Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (Asti), the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (Into) and TUI passed a motion at its respective annual congresses condemning the recent changed to the priority list.
The Government confirmed the vaccination programme will be based on an age-basis rather than occupation.
In a joint statement, the teachers’ unions urged the Government to “immediately reinstate” education staff as a priority group within the national vaccination programme.
Teacher unions pass emergency motions demanding teacher vaccination: (Thread) - Earlier this morning, the three teaching unions, @astiunion, INTO & @TUIunion passed a joint motion at their respective Easter congresses. pic.twitter.com/ql6njocAmf INTO (Irish National Teachers Organisation) (@INTOnews) April 7, 2021
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Updated / Tuesday, 6 Apr 2021
20:25
The Restaurants Association of Ireland said it would welcome a discussion on green passes
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties said that a digital certificate for Covid-19 vaccination cannot and should not lead to any type of discrimination.
Speaking on RTÉ s Drivetime, ICCL Executive Director Liam Herrick said that anything that allows discrimination in terms of access to goods and services, or employment raises an obvious question . discrimination . It also puts people in a position of being forced indirectly to take a vaccine, which raises questions of bodily integrity and the principle of consent to the vaccine programme.
The three teacher unions have agreed a joint motion on vaccine prioritisation for teachers for discussion at their conferences tomorrow.
Similarly, Antoinette Cunningham, general secretary of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) has said that gardaí should also be prioritised for the vaccine.
However, the government has argued that the vaccine rollout will be faster if it does on the basis of age, rather than profession.
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Special needs assistants need to be vaccinated against Covid-19 as soon as possible, says union Home quarantine among compromises to be discussed by Ministers
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The union representing Special Needs Assistants (SNAs), Forsa, has called on Government to ensure its members are vaccinated as soon as possible.
The union is unhappy that the vaccine rollout plan has been changed to one based primarily on age rather than occupation.
Andy Pike, head of the union’s education division, told RTÉ news on Monday: “Many of them will be working alongside healthcare staff, for instance in our special schools, where the nurses, physiotherapists and occupational therapists have all been vaccinated under the HSE rollout yet the SNAs working alongside them day to day will not be vaccinated.