“While recognising that there are some positives in the proposed agreement, the offer of a blank cheque for the renegotiation of staff contracts, with fundamental and far reaching implications for educational standards, is simply not acceptable,” IFUT General Secretary, Mike Jennings, stated.

The Executive of IFUT also decided that the conditions of employment of its members will not be subject to aggregated vote by other unions on the proposed agreement and reserved the right to make whatever decisions are necessary if members’ jobs and conditions are put in jeopardy.

The matter will be put to a full ballot of the union’s members following its Annual Delegate Conference on 24 April next.

The IFUT Press Release is available here.

“Government officials and trade unions negotiators had been achingly close to reaching an overall agreement which would have brought about an historic transformation of the public sector. By rejecting the deal, the Cabinet has returned us to the uncertainty and lack of direction that has plagued our economy and jobs market for over a year”, the General Secretary added.

The IFUT Press Release is available in full here.

In the ICTU brochure, Rest Assured: Union Hotels for Union Members, you will find details of deals available in hotels which engage in good employment practices.

By favouring these hotels, you will not only benefit from the specific deals on offer, but you will also be using your purchasing power as an individual trade union member to combat exploitation in the hotels sector by discriminating in favour of hotels which afford their staff dignity and respect and recognise their right to be represented by a trade union.

IFUT’s success was all the more remarkable given the fact that it was the smallest Union contesting the election. Despite the fact that IFUT had only two delegate votes, we were elected on the first count with 19 first-preference votes.

IFUT’s General Secretary, Mike Jennings, will begin his two-year term on the Congress Executive on Wednesday, 15 July 2009.

Messages have also been sent by the former South African Minister of Education, Professor Kader Asmal, as well as Senator Ivana Bacik and Senator David Norris.

All of the above are either current or former members of the union.

Dr Garret FitzGerald, former Taoiseach and a member of IFUT, will address the ADC on Saturday next, 25 April. Dr Fitzgerald made history by being the first ever Taoiseach to be a paid-up member of an ICTU-affiliated trade union.

The full text of President McAleese’s message of support and further details on the ADC can be read in the IFUT Press Release, which is available here.

The General Secretary, Mike Jennings, has written to all members with an update. The General Secretary’s letter is available here (Members only).

The General Secretary, Mike Jennings, said that the ballot represents “the reluctant determination of IFUT members to register the strongest possible protest against the Government’s handling of the economic crisis”.

The ballot was counted today and showed a margin of 67.7% in favour of the action.

The IFUT Press Release is available here.

There is a better, fairer way is available here.

IFUT’s General Secretary, Mike Jennings, said “We are very pleased that our members agreed with our recommendation that the deal was the best available in the current climate.

“However, no one should interpret this decision as implying acceptance by IFUT of the draconian education cuts contained in the recent Budget. In fact, the opposite is the case. Once the pay deal is resolved, we will be able to concentrate on winning the battle for popular and political support to overturn these cuts which will have such a devastating impact on our higher education system.”

The IFUT press release is available in full here.

The call follows a decision by IFUT members in NUI Maynooth to ballot for industrial action, following the decision of the college to issue a compulsory redundancy notice to a permanent staff member. The college move is a clear breach of all prevailing norms and understandings that preclude compulsory redundancies in the Public Sector, IFUT General Secretary, Mike Jennings, says.

Calling on the college to reverse its compulsory redundancy threat, Mike Jennings said, “it is ironic that this threat is being instigated at the same time that IBEC are citing permanency in employment in the public service as a reason for restrictions to pay increases in the current round of Partnership talks.” It is believed Maynooth is the first university to attempt to issue compulsory redundancy in this way.

Mike Jennings says: “The long-established guarantee of protection against compulsory redundancy in the public service is under serious threat; this has massive implications for academic staff in every college.” IFUT has referred the matter to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions who in turn have received confirmation from the Department of Finance that there is no change to the policy of no compulsory redundancies in the public service and none is contemplated. IFUT is awaiting a response to a formal complaint to the National Implementation Body (NIB), the highest dispute resolution body in the State.

The IFUT Press Release is available here.