History

Early Years

“A long gestation period, an acrimonious birth and a difficult infancy” was how the first and second Cathaoirligh of the Equality Committee, Marjorie Murphy, described the establishment of the committee in 1987.

Much credit for establishing this committee goes to former General Secretary Gerry Quigley, who played a decisive role in convincing INTO Congress of the potential of it. In its infant years the committee tackled areas such as gender equality in the workplace.

Some notable achievements included the encouragement of women to apply for principalships along with highlighting potential sexism in the classroom.

1990s

Throughout the 1990’s the committee examined the provisions in the area of maternity, paternity, family carers leave and childcare provisions for primary teachers. It prepared a report for the CEC making recommendations for improvements in pre-natal leave, unpaid maternity leave, leave for pregnancy related illnesses, parental leave, carers’ leave, paternity leave, adoptive leave and childcare. Gender issues also featured with studies on the male/female imbalance in primary education and participation levels of men and women in the INTO being conducted. Some notable achievements included the piloting of a job sharing initiative in a Dublin school leading to its gradual extension to all schools.

Throughout 1996 and 1997 the Equality Committee campaigned against certain aspects of Section 37 of the Employment Equality Bill which provided for an institution to prevent an employee from undermining its religious ethos. Concerns were expressed that teachers who were divorced, separated, single parents or gay would not have the full protection of the Employment Equality Bill as many schools were under the patronage of denominational churches.

The Equality Committee prepared its response and forwarded it to the Department of Equality and Law Reform. Much progress was made in ameliorating the worst aspects of the Bill when first introduced. However, following a Supreme Court judgement in 1997, Section 37(1) was passed without any changes. The Equality Committee still continues to campaign against Section 37(1).

Some resources produced and distributed throughout the 1990s included:

• Enhancing Self-Esteem (1995)
• Be Active, Get Involved
• Fair Play for Girls & Boys - Sport in National Schools (1993)

2000s

Throughout the Noughties (2000’s) much of the Equality Committee's work has been focussed on making members aware of the provisions of the Equal Status Act, 2000 and the Employment Equality Act 1998. The Acts:

• Promote Equality.
• Prohibit discrimination in relation to employment and the provision of services.
• Prohibit Sexual Harassment (on the discriminatory grounds).

The Acts prohibit discrimination on the following grounds:

• Gender
• Marital Status
• Family Status
• Sexual Orientation
• Religion
• Age
• Disability
• Race
• Traveller Community

In July 2003 the committee published Employment Equality Act 1998/Equal Status Act 2000: Questions and Answers. The booklet contributed to the understanding of rights and responsibilities under this legislation.

With the publication of the Equality bill in January 2004 which provided for Irish law to comply with European Community Directives, the INTO wrote to the Justice spokepersons for each of the political parties with draft amendments to Section 37(1) of the Employment Equality Act 1998. Support of ICTU for these amendments was also secured.

At a meeting between ICTU and Officials from the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform it became clear that the Minister did not intend to alter the terms of Section 37(1) and no change was made in the Equality Act 2004.

Further work on Gender was undertaken and a report Gender Imbalance in Primary Teaching was delivered at Congress 2005. In 2007 the Equality Committee drafted the leaflet Want a job that makes a difference?/Gairm a dheanann difir aimed in particular at male students in post-primary schools and urged them to consider a career in primary teaching.

On 24th June 2008 the Government published the “heads” of the Civil Partnership Bill. At its September 2008 meeting, the Equality Committee considered the provisions of the bill in outline form. The Committee found that the Bill when enacted would give rise to certain amendments of equality legislation and to appropriate changes in terms of teachers’ conditions of employment.

21 years of the Equality Committee

In November 2008, a special event was held to mark 21 years of the Equality Committee. Committee members and Equality Officers past and present were invited to a special function which was addressed by the first Cathaoirleach Marjorie Murphy, by INTO Vice-president Máire Ni Chuinneagain and by the General Secretary John Carr.

 

Ongoing Work

The Committee continues to campaign against Section 37(1) and a motion for Congress 2010 in relation to same was passed.

Recently the Committee distributed the leaflet and poster What are your rights as a teacher with a disability at work? to all teachers and schools.

The Committee is starting to explore themes for its Conference in 2013.