Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) branches in the Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) and the Institute of Technology Tralee (ITT) have passed motions this week to commence balloting members to take industrial action relating to the proposal to merge the two institutes. The union has already lodged a dispute about the proposed merger with the Labour Relations Commission.
The two branches, which collectively represent over 750 academic and research staff, are concerned that the two institutes will seek to approve a merger deal without the agreement of the branches at the next Governing Body meetings scheduled for the 25th February 2015.
The union has advised both institutes that it would be unwise to push ahead with a merger proposal at the last meeting of the current Governing Bodies’ term of office. It could be perceived as opportunistic for the institutes to force a merger deal at the meeting and unfair to the new Governing Body who will commence in March 2015. There is no good reason for the institutes to exercise undue haste in this regard. Taking a merger decision now will obviously result in unnecessary long-term industrial relations difficulties. The union is calling on the institutes to reflect on the seriousness of the situation and not to make a decision on merging whilst the industrial relations procedure is in process.
The branches are concerned about the risks the merger would pose for the regional missions of the institutes and the benefits to the local areas. Each institute has a unique position in the higher education sector in Cork and Tralee. Each institute is a brand name with a high reputation for quality and excellence in higher education. Students in both counties have easy access to the programmes, facilities and campuses. The 12,000 students (3,000 in Tralee and 9,000 in Cork) provide cultural, social and economic benefits to the local communities, sporting groups and enterprise. The institutes supply local employment opportunities for academic staff, researchers, technical and support staff. The two institute’s annual income is more than €130million (€98m for CIT and €36m for ITT). This provides both direct and indirect benefits to local businesses and enterprise.
TUI members (academic and research staff) in both institutes want to protect the identity and autonomy of their institute and the unique range of programmes and courses offered. The union is concerned about the risk that the forced merger will have on staffing levels, conditions, resources and services. The Higher Education Authority (HEA) has made it clear that no extra funding will be made available for mergers. Institutes that merge will need to fund the merger themselves by means of further efficiencies which would include reduced resources for services and programme provision.
The union believes that this rationalisation agenda will not serve the best interests of the Tralee and Cork regions. It is the union position that the HEA should allow institutes to maintain their own unique identity and serve their local communities without having to merge. If an institute wants to apply for technological university status it should be allowed to without first having to merge with another institute.
The union is calling on the Minister to remove the requirement from the draft legislation on technological universities to merge first before applying for university status. The union is mounting a local and regional campaign to protect the identity and autonomy of institutes from forced mergers and further rationalisation of services provided.