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You are > Home > Students discuss concerns over WIT industrial action
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Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Students discuss concerns over WIT industrial action
By Deirdre Dalton
AN emergency class representative council meeting was called yesterday (Monday) at Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) to discuss students concerns in relation to the ongoing industrial action by the lecturers at the college.
As those who sat exams at WIT over Christmas still await their results, the student population are becoming anxious that if the dispute between management and staff isn’t resolved, the summer exams may be placed in jeopardy.
However, TUI Branch Secretary Kathleen Moore Walsh told the Waterford News & Star that although she understood the pressure the dispute was placing students under, the Christmas results are only provisional and it would be another month before the summer exams are due to be set.
In the meantime she has met with the Students’ Union body a number of times and will do so again on Thursday of this week.
Explaining the background to the dispute she said the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) members at the Institute overwhelmingly (84.3%) endorsed industrial action as a response to WIT’s refusal to be bound by a nationally agreed Grievance Procedure. The Branch Officers have also called for an independent investigation of WIT records.
“WIT became the first institute of technology in the country to completely semesterise its courses five years ago. At that time WIT continued to pay lecturers the rate set by the Department of Education and Science back in 1990. In October 2009, without any information or consultation with the TUI Branch, WIT unilaterally slashed the exam marking rate it had customarily paid since semesterisation for exam marking performed in June and August 2009. In response to the retrospective cuts the TUI Branch filed a grievance under the nationally agreed Grievance Procedure, and in December 2009 WIT refused to honour the Grievance Procedure,” Ms. Moore Walsh said.
As a result, branch members have agreed not to turn in results, draft future exams, or mark future exams until WIT agrees to honour the nationally agreed Grievance Procedure.
“The lecturers regret that the students have been dragged into this dispute but point out that when WIT rejected the agreed Grievance Procedure it jettisoned the protections afforded under the Grievance Procedure regarding exams,” Ms. Moore Walsh added.
WIT confirmed that industrial relations action is underway concerning the level of additional payments made to academic staff for correcting examination papers.
“This is causing uncertainty about the timing of exam results for students who sat their exams in December and who would have been due to receive their results early this week,” a spokesperson said.
“The Institute is endeavouring to work through this issue with the relevant trade union and it would be inappropriate to comment further on the specifics of the dispute at this time. The Institute is hopeful that the issues will be resolved with minimal impact on students.”
Call made for immediate end to action According to WIT Young Fine Gael (YFG) the ongoing dispute has resulted in students being adversely affected following the vote by the TUI branch to engage in industrial action and continue to withhold results from students.
WIT Young Fine Gael has called for the dispute to be brought to an independent arbiter where the final decision will be made binding.
WIT Young Fine Gael chairman Kevin O’Sullivan said: “The dispute has been ongoing over a number of months now and initially had no direct effect on the students. However, while both parties have met a number of times in an attempt to resolve the dispute, no progress was made resulting in TUI members voting for industrial action. We believe this vote is indefensible, as it has now resulted in even more disruption for students in WIT.”
“Exam results are very important for students to help them judge how they are progressing in the course they are undertaking. For final year students, these results are crucial when applying for masters in other colleges.
WIT Young Fine Gael calls for both parties to use an independent arbiter whose decision must be binding. We do not believe that using the Grievance Procedure will resolve this dispute fully.”
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