“Our members were very wise not to accept the original proposal which was like being asked to buy a pig in a poke. But, by their vote today, they have indicated that the hard work put in by IFUT negotiators at national level has delivered a much less damaging and more tolerable set of proposals”, said Mike Jennings, IFUT General Secretary.

The results announced by IFUT today were as follows: 83.5% voted in favour and 16.5% voted against the clarified deal. There was a 42% turnout.

Mike Jennings said: “IFUT hopes that following this vote the focus will now shift to the massive productivity savings already given quite freely and generously by our members in recent years. The result is that we have a world-class system, which is providing higher education to more students than ever before in Ireland’s history, and it is being provided with drastically reduced resources, including significant pay cuts.”

The IFUT Media Release is available here.

Dr FitzGerald was the only Taoiseach in Ireland’s history who was concurrently a full member of a Congress-affiliated trade union. He was always proud of that fact as were, and are, all of his many friends in IFUT.

Dr FitzGerald was the Principal Guest Speaker at the IFUT Annual Delegate Conference in recent years. He also took an active part in the campaign in defence of the principle of academic freedom.

Speaking of Dr FitzGerald, the General Secretary of IFUT, Mike Jennings, said “The amazing thing about Garret was that, despite his monumental status as an Academic and Statesman, he was the easiest person in the world to talk to. Was there ever such a great man who was on first name terms with literally everyone he met? IFUT is proud to say that he was one of our own. He will be sadly missed”.

The Irish Federation of University Teachers extends its deepest sympathy to all of Dr FitzGerald’s family and his many friends.

The IFUT Media Release is available here.

In the ballot, 67.68% of the membership voted ‘No’, while 32.32% voted in favour.

IFUT General Secretary, Mike Jennings, said the vote “reflects the strong determination of our members not to have their job contracts put forward for binding arbitration.

“IFUT will be casting its vote against the proposals at the Public Service Committee of ICTU and will be seeking to ensure that the status quo remains in place. We are determined not to have the Croke Park proposals imposed on our members by a majority of other unions”.

The IFUT Press Release is available here.

The launch was attended by IFUT President, Hugh Gibbons, the General Secretary, Mike Jennings, members of the IFUT Executive and IFUT Council and a number of past Presidents.

Photographs from the event will be available shortly.

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.