Ninth Level Ireland

“A university here has been ordered to pay €60,000 for discriminating against an employee who had significant anxiety over contamination from using work toilets. The woman has been diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) Adjudication Officer, Maria Kelly has found that the university failed to make reasonable accommodation for the woman’s disability and that she was discriminated against on the grounds of her disability …” (more)

[Gordon Deegan, Irish Examiner, 26 June]

“A college academic who was made redundant from his post months after 23 colleagues signed a petition alleging repeated errors in tests he prepared has been awarded €7,748 for his unfair dismissal. Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) adjudication officer Davnet O’Driscoll has ruled that the college compensation payment to the course director is in addition to the redundancy sum the man has already received …” (more)

[Gordon Deegan, Independent, 3 October]

“It seems talks to try and resolve problems around the Technological University for the South East are on hold. At the end of June TUI members in IT Carlow voted against an agreement that had been reached at the Workplace Relations Commission. It’s expected talks will resume in September after progress came to a standstill over a month ago …” (more)

[KCLR 96FM, 5 August]

“A long-awaited decision on the Munster Technological University (MTU) is expected to be made shortly as an independent report sparks uncertainty over the project. Following a formal application earlier this year, an international panel of experts assessed a bid by Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) and the Institute of Technology Tralee (ITT) to become Munster’s first technological university …” (more)

[Jess Casey, Irish Examiner, 24 June]

“A long-awaited decision on the Munster Technological University (MTU) is expected to be made shortly as an independent report sparks uncertainty over the project. Following a formal application earlier this year, an international panel of experts assessed a bid by Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) and the Institute of Technology Tralee (ITT) to become Munster’s first technological university …” (more)

[Jess Casey, Irish Examiner, 24 June]

“Plans to create a technological university for the southeast have hit a new setback. While Waterford Institute of Technology and IT Carlow are preparing a joint bid to merge and become a technological university, staff at Carlow voted down the latest step in this process …” (more)

[Eoghan Dalton and Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 21 June]

“The Technological University for the South East is now a step closer. A memorandum of understanding has been agreed between IT Carlow, WIT and the Teachers Union of Ireland. The deal agreed at the Workplace Relations Commission will now be put to a staff ballot next week …” (more)

[Liz Reddy, WLR FM, 13 June]

“From the 18th to the 20th of June 2019, Galway Circuit Court will hear the linked cases of Isaac Burke, Kezia Burke, Enoch Burke, Ammi Burke -v- NUI Galway. This follows a Court ruling in December 2018 which overturned a key portion of the previous decision at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) …” (more)

[Burke Broadcast, 1 June]

“Lecturers at Institute of Technology Tralee are refusing to attend exam and course meetings after an exam board at the college overturned a lecturer’s marks for every student in his class. The industrial action, which was voted for by 65% of the members of the Teachers’ Union of Ireland at IT Tralee, has raised concerns about academic standards at the college …” (more)

[Peter McGuire, Irish Times, 31 December]

“Crisis talks are being conducted between staff and management at Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) to prevent the region’s Technological University (TU) bid from going off course …” (more)

[Eoghan Dalton, Munster Express, 5 December]

“David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason for the decision to intervene in a Workplace Relations Committee ruling regarding staff at Waterford Institute of Technology who were not moved onto a higher lecturer’s scale despite the fact that their colleagues were moved up the scale (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)

[Dáil written answers, 4 December]

“The Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT) has welcomed a ruling by the Workplace Relations Commission that an IFUT member was discriminated against on grounds of age. The case, one of a number of recent similar cases on discrimination at university level, resulted in an award of compensation to the female Lecturer concerned …” (more)

[IFUT, 22 November]

“A university has been ordered to pay €35,000 to a 55-year old lecturer after it was found to have discriminated against her on the basis of her age when not selecting her for a Dean of Learning and Teaching post …” (more)

[Gordon Deegan, Independent, 21 November]

“Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) has yet to pay separate financial awards to two female members of staff despite a decision reached by the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC). That’s according to the WIT branch of the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) …” (more)

[Eoghan Dalton, Munster Express, 21 November]

“Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) is yet to pay awards to two female staff members who successfully brought cases to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) on back wages, following delays in their progression from assistant lecturer to lecturer. This has lead staff to pursue industrial action in support of the two women …” (more)

[Lauren Boland, Trinity News, 7 November]

“Union suspends action at institutes of technology. Fórsa trade union has suspended industrial action taking place in institutes of technology and Mary Immaculate College in Limerick (MIC), as work is to commence on introducing a new job evaluation scheme, following talks at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) today (Friday) …” (more)

[Fórsa, 26 October]

“… It’s quite staggering then that the top echelons in UCD seem determined to so quickly squander tens of thousands of tax payers’ and student fee money to appeal a discrimination case awarded against them by the Workplace Relations Commission for age discrimination against a long-time female Lecturer in the college and a member of IFUT. Earlier this year the WRC ruled that age discrimination had occurred …” (more)

[Irish Federation of University Teachers, 27 June]

“The university lecturers’ union has hit back at plans by UCD to appeal a ruling that it discriminated against a female member of staff on age grounds in a competition for promotion when she was 61. The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) recently ordered UCD to pay lecturer Dr Anne Cleary €30,000 and to promote her retrospectively to senior lecturer grade …” (more)

[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 28 April]

“UCD is to appeal a Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) ruling that the university discriminated against a member of its academic staff on the ground of age. In a communication to staff, college president Andrew Deeks said UCD does not accept the finding and the university will be appealing the decision to the Labour Court …” (more)

[RTÉ News, 26 April]

“The country’s largest university has been ordered to pay €30,000 to an academic after it was found to have discriminated against her when passing her over for promotion. In the case before the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), UCD has been ordered …” (more)

[Gordon Deegan, Independent, 23 April]