However, the proposal also sparked debate among delegates.
Teacher Darragh Fitzpatrick, from Dublin, spoke against the motion, saying teachers who travel to the likes of Dubai are “better paid”, have health insurance, expenses and flights covered.
He said the union represents teachers who are based in Ireland and urged delegates to “respect teachers who contribute to their own country”.
Mr Fitzpatrick warned that the introduction of incremental credits for secondary school teachers who worked in private schools outside the EU will result in more teachers leaving.
“As a union, we need to ask why are members leaving to work at these schools abroad,” he told the TUI’s annual conference.
“They need to save for a deposit, avoid extortionate rents and as a union we need to work to address these issues. If we were to successfully negotiate this we’d have a situation where more members are leaving.
Today’s News in 90 Seconds – April 22nd
“We need to focus on members who are here, rather than enticing teachers who have been here in the past. A union that represents public servants should not be lobbyists for private education.”
Teacher Helen Johnston, from Co Longford, proposed the motion.
She said she worked in Asia as a teacher for 10 years and did not have her years recognised when she came home.
“This is deemed irrelevant experience in our multicultural classrooms,” she said.
“Teachers deserve incremental credit when they return to Ireland. The Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO) recognises this for primary school teachers. Recognising this experience is a matter of fairness and enables educational exercise. Learning and teaching are global. Our profession is global. Let’s respect our brave teachers who travel abroad and bring back cultural knowledge and experience.”
Ms Johnston said she travelled abroad because she didn’t have other options at the time.
“It was mentioned earlier how brave the teachers are who stay in their parents’ box bedrooms and put up with poor contracts,” she said.
“What about the students who go abroad, who brave different cultures, different languages, different dress because they don’t have a parents box bedroom to stay in – and that was my situation when I went abroad.”
Teacher Michael Lyons said that some members of the TUI have returned from working abroad and should be treated fairly.
The majority of delegates voted to pass the motion, while a small number voted against.
Earlier, TUI general secretary Michael Gillespie, who was addressing the opening day of the union’s annual congress at Whites of Wexford, said that other countries are offering “better pay, conditions – and even better weather”, while teachers here “are facing job insecurity, excessive workload and low pay”.
“They [teachers working abroad] are not abandoning Ireland – Ireland is abandoning them,” he said.
He called for incremental credits to be introduced in a bid to encourage teachers to come home to help alleviate the recruitment and retention crisis.
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