Sunday April 26th, 2015
The Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT) have issued joint strike notice to obtain an agreed appeals process to review grossly anomalous pay scales for researchers at Ireland’s premier research centre, Tyndall National Institute in Cork
Mike Jennings, general secretary of IFUT said that for more than five years staff at Tyndall have been seeking the right to be paid on equal terms to their UCC colleagues.
”A resolution appeared to be in sight when, in 2014, all parties agreed to
engage consultants put forward by management. Staff anticipated an objective analysis aimed at placing employees on their proper pay scales.
”Regrettably and almost incredibly, the consultants unilaterally
disregarded and departed from very important parts of their terms of
reference, as a result they produced a truly shocking report which
surprised even the Management but caused dismay amongst the staff.
”Of approximately 180 staff surveyed only two were deemed to be of academic
standard. This finding, if accepted, would be the death knell for Tyndall’s
international reputation as a research institute
“Over the past five years, IFUT and SIPTU, which represent staff at the Institute, have made numerous visits to the Labour Relations Commission and the Labour Court to resolve this manifest injustice through negotiation and agreement.
Mike Jennings said that the previously drafted but unfinalised appeals process, designed to deal with a small number of anomalous or contested findings was inadequate to deal with a situation where practically every employee had serious issues with their allocation and where the very integrity of the report itself is no longer accepted.
”This is why a strike is now pending in Tyndall. It is because the Department of
Education refuses to allow UCC to make any changes whatsoever to the
appeals process.
“IFUT and SIPTU are asking for immediate installation of an agreed appeals process, to allow the widespread and gross anomalies on pay affecting research staff at Tyndall to be addressed without further delay,” Mike Jennings said
ENDS
For further information on this press release please contact:
John Gallagher, John Gallagher Consulting. Tel. 087.9369888
Mike Jennings, General Secretary, IFUT. Tel. 087.6776747.