Brendan Mackin is Director of Belfast Unemployed Resource Centre. He is Vice-President of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, Chairperson of the Social Economy Agency, Board member of the NI Housing Executive and Chairperson of Intercomm (North Belfast). He lists his personal interests as sport, reading and visiting pubs.

 

 

I am currently on a sabbatical year with The Ulster Teachers’ Union, based on the Malone Road in Belfast. There are many issues at present as we are living in an age of huge changes in our educational system. The question of under funding is always with us.

 

Many of our members are experiencing difficulties coping with migrant children , some of whom arrive in schools with little or no English. I am hoping to observe  how another education system manages a multi-cultural school population – hence my interest in visiting Australia. I am Principal of a primary school of 198 pupils and will be returning to school after our annual conference in April. I am married to Jack. We have a son and a daughter and we recently welcomed a son-in-law and a daughter-in-law to our family circle.

 

 

Kevin McAdam is an official of Amicus the union based in Belfast. Amicus is a large General trade union representing 28000 members in NI. The main areas he covers include the Finance sector, General industries , Health, Higher Education and Government industries. He has worked as a full time official for over 6 years. He is married and has 2 young children and lives near Hillsborough Co. Down. He has been involved in many aspects of the trade union movement throughout Ireland since starting work in 1977.