Unionist representatives at Queen's University Belfast have complained of bias against Protestant students after a survey disclosed that more than four out of five part-time jobs with the college's union go to Catholics.
The union responded that more jobs went to Catholics because there were more Catholic applicants. It said the union applied stringent fair employment practices.
The survey, by the university's equal opportunities unit, showed that 115 Catholics (83 per cent) compared to 24 Protestants were employed by the union. A breakdown of the figures reveals that the union bar employs 47 Catholics and six Protestants, the creche five Catholics and one Protestant, and the shop 16 Catholics and six Protestants.
Mr Simon Hamilton, of Queen's Unionist Association, said the statistics reflected a general bias against Protestants at the union. He told BBC Northern Ireland that the imbalance resulted from a failure to have unionists properly represented at the highest level in the union.
He believed Protestants who applied were not being fairly treated. The union denied the charge and said it was trying to attract more Protestant applicants. It argued that the Unionist Association's complaints could discourage Protestant applicants.
Mr John Cousins, permanent secretary of Queen's Union, said the college was working actively to redress the imbalance. It had spent £50,000 in the past two years in surveys to establish why sufficient numbers of Protestants were not applying for positions.
It also adopted an affirmative action programme to attract Protestants. Monitoring reports from the Fair Employment Commission showed that where Protestants applied they had an equal chance with all other applicants.
