Irish Federation of University Teachers

A little respect for the stakeholders in the higher education sector and the avoidance of ’stunts’ and ‘cheap fixes’ will go a long way and will be reciprocated, the General Secretary of the Irish Federation of University Teachers, Mike Jennings, told newly-appointed Minister for Education, Mary Coughlan, at the 2010 IFUT Annual Delegate Conference today [...]

The Irish University system has always had to struggle and was never properly funded, even during the years of the Celtic Tiger, the President of the Irish Federation of University Teachers, Hugh Gibbons, said in his address to the 2010 IFUT Annual Delegate Conference today (Saturday, 24 April 2010). Now the Irish University system is [...]

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 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 [...]

The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) and the Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT) have condemned the Government’s recruitment embargo in third-level institutes.
The Higher Education Authority (HEA) demanded that, this year, all Higher Education institutes cut employment to 3 per cent below 2008 levels. The ban has affected the academic quality, as well as [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 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 has expressed some concern that any abolition of allowances paid to academic staff in Irish Universities would not apply to those allowances which staff are paid for performing extra duties.
IFUT General Secretary, Mike Jennings, said that IFUT wanted complete transparency in the payment of allowances and was critical of those allowances which were not [...]