The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) has suspended membership of 16 teachers, mostly Principals, for up to five months, all in the last two years, for breaking a ban on co-operating with the Jobbridge internship scheme.

The INTO had banned their 35,000 union members from co-operating with the scheme back in 2011, and these suspensions come after complaints were made about members who were advertising internship jobs through the Jobbridge scheme in the last two years.

According to report by Niall Murray in The Irish Examiner this morning, ‘the suspensions were imposed by the central executive committee on 16 members ranging from one to five months.’

Both the INTO and the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) have expressed anger in the past at the advertising of teacher jobs on the Jobbridge website. Those applicants who are hired through the Jobbridge scheme are paid €50 extra on top of their social welfare payments, however, the union put a direct prohibition on their members participating in the scheme back in December 2011. Both unions have described the hiring of teachers in these internships programs as ‘exploitive’.

According to The Irish Examiner:

“The overwhelming majority of INTO members continue to support the union’s directive on the JobBridge scheme and try to ensure newly-qualified teachers are able to build a path to permanent employment through temporary and substitute work,” said a spokesperson.”

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