TUI members vote for industrial action over establishment of technological universities

Members of the Teachers’ Union of Ireland working in third level have voted for industrial action in a dispute over the establishment of technological universities.

The union says the dispute been caused by the Department of Further and Higher Education’s failure to adhere to an agreement reached seven years ago, and that a ballot of its 4,600 members in the sector produced a huge majority in favour of taking action.

The union has called on the department to engage with it on the issue and says its national executive will decide in the coming weeks on what form any action may take in the event that the issue is not resolved.

It says a 2017 agreement reached at a time when detail of the sector’s reorganisation was being worked out included a framework for the terms and conditions of those to be employed by the new universities across the country.

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“Regrettably, [the department] and management have not adhered to this collective agreement, deliberately and consistently frustrating the proper functioning of the industrial relations at third level, including the National Negotiation Forum.”

Instead, it contends, the aim of the department has been “to have each TU [technological university] free to operate separately, without regard or recourse to national negotiation”.

“The strong mandate given back to the union by members at third level shows the depth of feeling on this critical issue,” said TUI president David Waters on Thursday.

“There must be parity of esteem across the technological university sector and any regional variations in pay or conditions are completely unacceptable to us.”

The dispute is understood to relate to a number of senior grades with differences said to be emerging in the pay and conditions of managers depending on whether they are working in or outside of Dublin and, in some colleges outside of the capital, whether people are classified as working in administrative or academic roles.

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“We have flagged the issue but have yet to see a resolution despite the existence of structures for resolving issues like this,” said TUI general secretary Michael Gillespie.

In a statement, the department said it was aware of the outcome of the TUI ballot and its officials “remain ready to meet and engage fully with the TUI on this matter”. But it said the department “has engaged consistently with the TUI on the reform of the technological university sector, and the department does not accept the TUI’s position that any agreement has been breached.”

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