The seven Irish universities paid IBEC €874 083 between 2005 and 2008.
These contributions are in addition to the costs of substantial, well-staffed Human Resources Departments. In addition, it should be noted that the State, through the Labour Relations Commission and the Labour Court, provides a free service for the resolution of disputes between employers and [...]
The Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT) has welcomed the government’s decision to consider access for retired workers to employment rights bodies.
Responding to a proposal by Labour Senator Brendan Ryan, Minister for Labour Affairs, Dara Calleary, said that he was “sympathetic” to retired people having “a facility whereby grievances arising from their former employment relationship [...]
The sudden announcement by the Minister for Education, Mr Batt O’Keefe, TD, of the abolition of the National University of Ireland (NUI) has been described as the latest example of ‘decisions without policy’ by the Minister, Mr Mike Jennings, IFUT General Secretary has said.
“The announcement occurred without due consultation and with a total lack [...]
The General Secretaries and Presidents of the four teacher unions met this morning to consider the impact of the budget on teachers and their families and plan a response.
The leadership of the unions is determined to reflect the anger of teachers at the budget cuts to salaries and changes to pensions through a sustained campaign [...]
In an initial reaction to today’s Budget, Mike Jennings, IFUT General Secretary, has described the Government’s approach to education funding as one of “cut, cut and cut again”.
“Cut the pay of an already demoralised staff, cut staff numbers to the bone and cut the funds needed to replace creakingly inadequate infrastructure – that seems to [...]
IFUT has declared that, if the Government cuts the pay of their members, then the Union will sanction an equivalent withdrawal of productivity.
“If they cut our pay, they can hardly expect us to continue working as though nothing had happened. I expect that IFUT members will disengage from non-core duties, particularly in the administrative area”, [...]
The breakdown today of talks between the unions and government on public sector pay talks represents a failed opportunity to get our economy and society back on track, Mike Jennings, IFUT General Secretary, has said.
“Government officials and trade unions negotiators had been achingly close to reaching an overall agreement which would have brought about an [...]
The announcement by the HEA that there are now students from 139 countries studying here only serves to illustrate the diversity of educational, social and cultural challenges faced by third-level institutions and staff in assisting these students to adapt and gain from their time here, Mike Jennings, IFUT General Secretary, has said.
“It is immensely frustrating [...]
Universities are being subjected to the same market-based, profit-driven policies that caused the crisis in the financial markets and face an increasing risk of a crisis in academic standards and credibility, David Robinson, [...]
The IFUT General Secretary, Mike Jennings, has been nominated by Education International as an expert to an International Labour Office (ILO) Working Group which is drawing up a Toolkit on Best Practice for the Teaching Profession world-wide.
The Toolkit is an important new initiative of ILO Sectoral Activities and is strongly supported by Education International. The [...]