“IFUT has agreed on a protocol with the IUA on the implementation of the Report of the Expert Group on Fixed-Term and Part-Time Employment in Lecturing (the Cush Report) …” (more)
[IFUT, 2 September]
“Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the progress his Department has made in respect of the implementation of the Cush Report regarding part time and fixed term employment in third level institutions and in particular her Department’s request in June 2017 that third level institutions establish an adjudication system to hear disputes arising from the implementation of the Cush Report; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)
[Dáil written answers, 11 September]
“A new element was added to the ongoing industrial dispute in Trinity this week, after the government sent colleges and institutes of technology guidance that explicitly called for a re-think of their use of temporary contracts in the employment of administrative and support staff …” (more)
[University Times, 20 August]
“Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if all the recommendations of the Cush report in respect of fixed-term workers in third level colleges have been accepted and implemented by him; and if not, the specific recommendations that remain outstanding …” (more)
[Dáil written answers, 8 March]
“Carol Nolan (Offaly, Sinn Fein): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will implement the recommendations of the Cush report; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)
[Dáil written answers, 21 June]
[For the Cush Report on precarious employment in 3rd level see here.]
“Prof William Reville’s column on fraudulent science, which notes that an increasing number of researchers have been found to falsify data to increase the likelihood of publication, is very telling regarding how the current academic scientific system works (‘Fraud is now the biggest enemy of science’, June 2nd) …” (more)
[Letters, Irish Times, 9 June]
“The Minister for Education and Skills welcomes the Report of the Chairperson of the Expert Group, Mr Michael Cush SC, on Fixed-Term and Part-Time Employment in Lecturing in Third Level Education in Ireland. The recommendations contained in the report will assist in addressing concerns raised about precarious employment by Union representatives …” (more, download)
[Department of Education and Skills, 12 May]
“The recent news that Waterford-born academic Prof Louise Richardson is set to become the first woman to lead the University of Oxford came on the same day that the Higher Education Authority announced a review of gender equality policies in Irish universities to promote more women in leadership roles …” (more)
[Marie Clarke, Irish Times, 8 June]
“While research faces significant obstacles in Europe, Ireland’s national research policy is facing an even more alarming crisis as it continues to ignore and operate counter to consistent EU recommendations on development of research and innovation …” (more)
[Mike Jennings, Irish Times, 23 March]
“A legal challenge has been launched over law changes that unions claim make it easier to remove staff on fixed-term contracts …” (more)
[Jack Grove, Times Higher Education, 5 August]
“We’re all tourists in academia. With short-term contracts being so common, it’s more or less natural to slide from PhD into hourly-paid teaching, into a Post-Doc, a fellowship, or a maternity/ research leave cover. Many of us are well into our thirties before we get the first full-time permanent job …” (more)
[The History Woman’s Blog, 6 April]
“When Vicky Blake embarked on her PhD at Durham University eight years ago, she believed it was the beginning of an exciting research career. Now, as part of the silently growing army of teaching staff paid by the hour in British universities, she is beginning to wonder at what stage she should walk away …” (more)
[Anna Fazackerley, Guardian, 4 February]
“The most vulnerable university staff are increasingly seeing their jobs threatened as university managements seek to breach the provisions of the 2003 Fixed-Term Work Act, Mike Jennings, General Secretary of the Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT), stated in his address to delegates at their 2012 Conference in Dublin today …” (more)
[Irish Federation of University Teachers, 21 April]
“A chara,– Although Science Foundation Ireland deserves much credit for bringing our third level research capabilities into the 21st century, this progress is in critical danger of being lost due to disjointed public policy concerning scientific research staff …” (more)
[Nick Hilliard, Irish Times, 21 September]
“A lecturer at Athlone Institute of Technology has secured a temporary High Court injunction restraining the institute from terminating his employment. David Holland (44), of Ballymahon, Co Longford, a lecturer in stone and brick laying at the institute’s department of trades, yesterday secured a temporary injunction against the college, which the court heard intended to make him redundant as of yesterday …” (more)
[Irish Times, 21 June]
“In an important ruling, the Labour Court has determined that two Fixed-Term Contract Lecturers, who lost their jobs when the Department of Education closed St Catherine’s College of Education for Home Economics, must be paid the same ex-gratia redundancy as their permanent colleagues. The Labour Court also awarded additional compensation of €2500 each to the two women. IFUT, which fought the case on behalf of their members, has warmly welcomed the ruling …” (more)
[IFUT, 18 December]
