Ninth Level Ireland

“The Department of Public Expenditure has said it will consider ‘in due course’ whether thousands of teachers who are scheduled to go on strike next month will face financial penalties. About 19,000 members of the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) are to stage a one-day stoppage on February 4th, which is likely to lead to the closure of hundreds of second-level schools …” (more)

[Martin Wall and Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 20 January]

“Thousands of teachers who are members of the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) are to go on strike on Tuesday, February 4th. The one-day strike, just days before the general election, is over what the union described as the Government’s ‘ongoing failure to eliminate the injustice of pay discrimination’ …” (more)

[Martin Wall, Irish Times, 17 January]

“Industrial strife resumes. After a couple of years of industrial peace, the prospect of disruption looms. Two-tier pay rates introduced in 2011 put ‘newly qualified teachers’ on inferior rates of pay. A decade later, the issue still hasn’t been fully resolved …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 7 January]

“The Taoiseach has said he expects public sector pay to rise higher than the rate of inflation. Leo Varadkar said he anticipates pay increases in the public sector in 2020 but they must be linked to reform. The Government has adopted a series of ‘one-size-fits-all’ deals with public service unions covering pay, conditions and reforms across the entire public sector over the past decade …” (more)

[Irish Examiner, 29 December]

“Unique universities: now the only place where senior public officers can live abroad, have few checks on expenses and tax, and benefit personally from public funding of gene patents. The exploitation of tax funds for private personal gains by state sector employees, particularly at universities. UCC as example. The public is funding things like applications for human gene patents …” (more)

[Indymedia Ireland, 21 December]

“The gender pay gap among third-level graduates widens with time, with men earning an average €14 more per week than women within a year of graduating and €130 more per week after eight years, according to new research from the Higher Education Authority (HEA) …” (more)

[Emer Moreau, University Times, 16 December]

“A pay gap between male and female graduates opens up within a year of leaving college and widens over time, a study by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) has found. While women outperform men in the Leaving Cert and at third level, pay for men outstrips that of women by, on average, €14 per week within a year of graduating, rising to €130 per week after eight years …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 16 December]

“Irish third-level institutions are to be affected by strikes and other actions over pay and conditions in the coming months. This comes as lecturers and researchers in 60 universities across the UK and Northern Ireland began an eight day strike on Monday over pensions, pay and conditions …” (more)

[TheJournal.ie, 1 December]

“The possibility that no public service pay agreement will be in place to follow the current deal when it expires at the end of next year has been raised by Fórsa at a meeting of ICTU’s Public Service Committee, which represents most unions with members in the public sector. The union’s general secretary Kevin Callinan today (Thursday) said Fórsa and other unions needed to prepare for the possibility, while urging the Government to inject more urgency into addressing problems with the current Public Service Stability Agreement (PSSA) …” (more)

[Fórsa, 28 November]

“UCD academics are paid some of the highest salaries in the country as well as having greater pay packages than their international counterparts. This may be due to UCD being recently ranked low in international research tables and if the university provides higher salaries to researchers and academics this positioning can be improved …” (more)

[Adam O’Sullivan, College Tribune, 24 November]

“Many lecturers and support staff at Queen’s University (QUB) and Ulster University (UU) are beginning eight days of strike action on Monday. The action by University and College Union (UCU) members is due to disputes over pay and pensions. The strike is expected to continue up to and including Wednesday, 4 December …” (more)

[Robbie Meredith, BBC News, 25 November]

“Many college students are faced with compulsory placements and no guarantee of payment. A day’s work warrants compensation. In January 2019 pharmacy students took to the streets of Dublin to protest a ban on paid internship placements, required as part of the final two years of their degree. The group were successful with the ban being lifted but payment still remains optional …” (more)

[Niall Hurson, University Observer, 21 November]

“Senior academics have little confidence in the governance and management capacity of their own higher education institutions, according to a new survey. It also finds many are sceptical over the Government’s ambition to provide the best education system in Europe over the next decade. The findings are contained in a survey of more than 340 senior staff in higher education institutions and agencies by the polling firm Prospectus …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 20 November]

“Teachers are to stage a one-day strike in February in a significant escalation of the long-running campaign to end the two-tier pay system in schools. The Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) said its executive had decided to hold the stoppage as its efforts to bring the issue of pay discrimination to a conclusion had been ‘frustrated by Government inaction’ …” (more)

[Martin Wall, Irish Times, 18 November]

“Teachers are to stage a one-day strike in February in a significant escalation of the long-running campaign to end the two-tier pay system in schools. The Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) said its executive had decided to hold the stoppage as its efforts to bring the issue of pay discrimination to a conclusion had been ‘frustrated by Government inaction’ …” (more)

[Martin Wall, Irish Times, 18 November]

“Queen’s University and Ulster University face eight days of strike action from many lecturers and support staff, starting on 25 November. The action by University and College Union (UCU) members is due to disputes over pay and pensions. The walkout follows votes in favour of industrial action and will affect about 60 universities across the UK …” (more)

[Robbie Meredith, BBC News, 7 November]

“Ireland ranks 13th out of 23 European countries when it comes to pay levels for graduates with a bachelor’s degree. Those leaving college here can expect to earn around €31,075, just over a quarter more than the average salary of someone who finishes their education after secondary school. The figures come in a report from insurance and consulting group Willis Towers Watson …” (more)

[Ellie Donnelly, Independent, 25 October]

“Looking for a job in Irish universities was demoralising as there were no permanent contracts for the type of role I was applying for. In Ireland, you get a graduate visa for two years after completing a postgrad in order to find a job. This is difficult when the role you want doesn’t offer permanent contracts, which is the case for most graduate jobs in third levels these days …” (more)

[TheJournal.ie, 20 October]

“The bill for public sector pay and pensions is set to rise by more than €1bn to a new peak next year. Wages for State workers and payments to pensioners will hit a combined total of €23bn. The pay bill is expected to increase by just under 5%, or €925m, to €19.6bn. Pension costs will jump 5.2%, or €166m, to €3.3bn …” (more)

[Anne-Marie Walsh, Independent, 12 October]

“Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) members have voted overwhelmingly to renew their mandate for industrial action over two-tier pay rates. The ballot was passed by a margin of 92% to 8% to endorse the union’s mandate for industrial action, up to and including strike action, as part of its campaign for equal pay …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 10 October]