Archive for September, 2009

Teacher unions promise opposition to cuts in pay

Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009

ASTI, IFUT, INTO and TUI have declared their total opposition to cuts in the pay of their members. Such cuts are totally unacceptable and will be resisted.
The General Secretaries and Presidents of the four Teacher Unions issued a Joint Statement after their meeting today (Tuesday, 22 September 2009). “We want to send a crystal clear [...]

Legal challenge to third-level posts policy may emerge

Thursday, September 10th, 2009

The Government’s recruitment squeeze of academic staff at third level is likely to face a legal challenge from the group which represents university lecturers.
The seven university presidents have also been considering a court challenge against the new Employment Control Framework which some maintain runs counter to the 1997 Universities Act, guaranteeing their independence.
While university presidents [...]

Four teacher unions prepare for challenges ahead

Tuesday, September 8th, 2009

The Presidents and General Secretaries of the four teacher unions (ASTI, IFUT, INTO and TUI) met today (8 September 2009) to prepare a strategy against further attacks on the education system in the coming months.
All four unions are gravely concerned that cutbacks already in place are having a detrimental effect on the education system. Staffing [...]

IFUT releases policy document on Government’s employment policy for Higher Education

Friday, September 4th, 2009

IFUT has released an important policy document on the Government’s employment policy for Higher Education
The main points of the IFUT policy are:

The Government’s Employment Policy for the Higher Education Sector is Illegal
The Government’s Policy is Politically Stupid
The Government’s Policy is Contradictory and Unworkable
The Minister’s Policy Will Lead to Higher Drop-out Rates
The Minister’s Policy is Anti-Democratic
IFUT [...]

IFUT complains to European Commission over Labour Court ruling

Friday, September 4th, 2009

IFUT has written to the European Commission to complain about a Labour Court decision affecting one of its members.
It is calling on the Commission to investigate Ireland’s non-compliance with the fixed term workers directive, and Fixed Term Workers Act, 2003, the statute examined by the Labour Court in the run-up to its decision.
The 2003 Act [...]

Proposed Reintroduction of Higher Education Fees

Friday, September 4th, 2009

In a letter to the editor of The Irish Times and published on 4 September 2009, IFUT General Secretary, Mike Jennings, writes:
“We impose financial charges (for example for refuse collection, water supply, etc) as an instrument to discourage usage. Yet we are expected to suspend our disbelief when the Minister for Education says that re-imposing [...]

Good deals in good hotels

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions has launched a campaign encouraging trade unions and individual trade union members to use their purchasing power to combat exploitation in the hotels sector by favouring hotels which allow their employees to be represented by a trade union.
In the ICTU brochure, Rest Assured: Union Hotels for Union Members, you [...]