“Sir, – Prof Diarmaid Ferriter’s trenchant criticism of damaging trends in Irish higher education should be compulsory reading for policymakers (‘Universities are preoccupied with market growth as if educators were stocks and shares’, Opinion & Analysis, May 29th) …” (more)
[Brian Murphy, Irish Times, 2 June]
“Contrary to popular belief, teaching and lecturing at university by no means automatically guarantees secure employment, ample time to pursue research, and a cosy office in which to do it. Over the past decade or so, especially since the recession in 2008/09, Irish universities, and indeed universities throughout the world, have begun to rely more and more on hourly paid or temporary staff to cover tutorials, seminars, lectures, and lab sessions …” (more)
[Trinity News, 3 December]
“Casual staff have always played an important role in university teaching. Many graduate students and postdocs supplement their income by delivering lectures and tutorials, gaining valuable experience and often doing a great job. But has casualization gone too far? …” (more)
[CDBU, 6 March]
“Members of the Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT) in Trinity College Dublin have voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action as they seek ‘full discussions’ with the college on employment practices. The staff in the administration, library and support staff categories voted by 27-3 in support of industrial action, including strike action, over plans to make all future appointments in these areas on a temporary-contract basis …” (more)
[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 18 April]
“Members of IFUT in the Administration, Library and Support Staff categories in Trinity College, Dublin, have voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action over plans to make all future appointments in these areas on a temporary contract basis …” (more)
[Irish Federation of University Teachers, 17 April]
“Sir, – Well done to Peter McGuire for his insightful article on the casualisation of staff in third-level education (‘Casual contracts: the precarious world of academia’, Education, April 4th) …” (more)
[Letters, Irish Times, 5 April]
“Academia was once among the most respectable and secure careers. In recent years, however, it has become one of the most precarious places to work. Younger lecturers struggle to get any hours while permanent and established academic staff are so overwhelmed that they have little choice but to push more administrative work on their younger colleagues …” (more)
[Peter McGuire, Irish Times, 4 April]
“For the first time in years, we might see a possible strike inside the walls of Trinity. A ‘diktat’ from College, which will see an end to promotions for support and service staff and the introduction of temporary contracts for all new employees, has been heavily and rightly attacked by SIPTU, IFUT and UNITE …” (more)
[University Times, 22 January]
“Whether or not you’re entirely convinced by the figures on casualisation recently publicised by the UK’s University and College Union, it is beyond dispute that increasing numbers of PhD graduates are being forced into short-term, insecure work to sustain their academic careers. There simply are not enough permanent jobs out there for all those qualified to do them …” (more)
[Tom Cutterham, Times Higher Education, 5 January]
“38% of Trinity staff are employed on temporary contracts, with academic staff making up 40% of the temporary staff employed by Trinity, according to figures in a new report seen by The University Times …” (more)
[John Conway, University Times, 14 December]
“The furore that greeted the recent publication of University and Colleges Union’s (UCU) analysis of data on precarious employment saw the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) and several universities set about attempting to trash UCU’s use of the available numbers. In the process, they presented an image of a sector in strenuous denial …” (more)
[Jonathan White, Wonkhe, 13 December]
“I have just returned from my last conference of the season – half a dozen in total, across the UK and Europe. One theme kept cropping up in conversations with fellow attendees: job insecurity, and the impact it is having on our families and lives …” (more)
[Guardian, 2 November]
“Your articles on insecure employment at UK universities (University staff contracts ‘like Sports Direct’, 17 November) rightly draw attention to the appalling position of those on casual contracts (Dawn cleaning shift, shower, then teach: survival as a lecturer, 17 November; Universities are using casual contracts to put profit before people, theguardian.com, 17 November). There is, however, an important additional dimension: ‘permanent’ jobs at universities are often permanent in name only …” (more)
[Letters, Guardian, 20 November]
“One of the most highly skilled and prestigious professions in Britain, university teaching, is now dominated by zero-hours contracts, temp agencies and other forms of precarious work, the Guardian can reveal. New analysis reveals that it is the richest Russell Group institutions that rely most heavily on insecure academic workers …” (more)
[Aditya Chakrabortty and Sally Weale, Guardian, 16 November]
“Lack of funding for Higher education in Ireland and the scandalous shortage of staff in the sector have combined to create an explosion in the numbers of part-time and temporary academic staff, the Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT) will report to a worldwide conference on issues in third-level education this week …” (more)
[Irish Federation of University Teachers, 13 November]
“The Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT) has released a charter criticising UCC for their practice of employing research and teaching staff on a casual basis. The charter aims to publicise the widespread problem of casualisation and low pay of academic staff in Irish universities …” (more)
[Michelle Beazley, UCC Express, 23 October]
“The Irish Federation of University Teachers has launched a Charter for casual workers in University College Cork, providing a code of practice for members to support and defend casual and precarious workers within the university …” (more)
[Education International, 10 October]
“University College Cork has denied that it’s operating a casualisation policy for hiring staff amid claims that a third of teaching staff are not ‘permanent’ employees. In the face of claims by the Irish Federation of University Teachers that at least one-third of staff delivering teaching to students are now employed on a purely casual basis …” (more)
[Evening Echo, 10 October]
“The casualisation of lecturing jobs at University College Cork and other universities is exploitative of staff and threatens education standards, a union claims. The Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT) said at least one third of those teaching at UCC are employed on a purely casual basis — affecting more than 200 staff there alone …” (more)
[Niall Murray, Irish Examiner, 7 October]
“The Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT) has launched a Charter for casual workers in UCC, saying that at least one-third of staff delivering teaching to students are now employed on a purely casual basis …” (more)
[Irish Federation of University Teachers, 5 October]
