Staff at the University of Galway are set to begin industrial action next month following an overwhelming vote by members of the Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT ) in favour of action up to and including strike action.
The dispute centres on pay, outstanding local bargaining commitments and concerns over employment conditions in the higher education sector.
Nationally, 92.5% of IFUT members who voted backed industrial action. At the University of Galway, members will begin the planned action on Monday, October 5, which is World Teachers’ Day.
The first action will involve a one-hour withdrawal of labour from 12 noon to 1pm. This will be followed by a 24-hour strike on Wednesday, October 14, and a further 24-hour strike on Wednesday, October 21.
IFUT said the planned action remains subject to the required statutory notice arrangements.
The union has said the Government has failed to put forward what it considers a credible approach to pay that would protect public servants’ living standards and provide a basis for meaningful negotiations.
The dispute also includes outstanding Local Bargaining commitments. These include measures aimed at addressing insecure and precarious employment in higher education, as well as protections against unilateral changes to working arrangements.
IFUT Assistant General Secretary Robert McNamara said University of Galway staff were part of a “strong national mandate” for action.
“Staff have voted because they expect serious negotiations on pay and they expect commitments already entered into to be delivered,” he said.
Mr McNamara said the timing of the first stoppage on World Teachers’ Day was significant.
“World Teachers’ Day should be an occasion to recognise the people who make education possible,” he said. “Our members will mark it this year by standing together for fair pay, secure employment and respect for collective bargaining.”
He said university staff were facing increasing costs while waiting for a credible pay proposal from Government.
“The people teaching, researching and sustaining our universities cannot simply be asked to absorb rising costs while Government delays putting a credible pay proposition on the table,” he said.
However, Mr McNamara said there remained an opportunity to resolve the dispute without further industrial action.
“Members want a negotiated solution,” he said. “Government now has a clear opportunity to establish a serious basis for negotiations before this dispute escalates further.”
The planned action would affect staff at the University of Galway and forms part of a wider national dispute involving IFUT members over pay and employment conditions.
