TUI wants CIT and IT Tralee staff issues resolved before Munster Technological University operational
Outstanding industrial relations matters must be addressed urgently before the new Munster Technological University is formally established, according to the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI).
The union representing staff at both institutions said with the decision to grant Technological University (TU) status to Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) and Institute of Technology Tralee (IT Tralee) carrying both regional and national implications, ongoing issues around the merger must be resolved as soon as possible.
Staff have been central in the development of the model of higher education provision that will work best for students and the broader community that they serve, according to the TUI.
Announcing the decision, Joe McHugh, the Minister for Education, described the MTU as a landmark development for the South-West.
A decision on the MTU was deferred last year amid concerns raised by an independent panel. Mr McHugh congratulated both institutes in overcoming challenges to meet the required conditions of the TU designation.
However, he added that it is important that both institutes continue to focus on engaging with staff representatives on certain industrial relations issues that are still under negotiation.
These matters must now be addressed as a matter of urgency, the TUI said.
"The TUI stands ready to engage with management of the institutes to negotiate resolutions that honour the Memorandum of Understanding agreed between the union and the institutes.
"It would seem entirely reasonable to expect a similar level of commitment by the two institutes."
Both CIT and IT Tralee have been directed by the Minister for Education to focus on stabilising the financial situation in Tralee, in line with a sustainability plan that has been endorsed by the Higher Education Authority (HEA).
Last December, the HEA said that IT Tralee had been running at a deficit since 2013. Between 2013 and 2017, its deficit grew to €2.5m. The MTU project has spent years in planning, encountering several major setbacks along the way. Fears have been raised regarding the rationalisation of courses and jobs.
With the MTU set to be formally established in January 2021, students who graduate in 2021 will do so with university qualifications. The first TU in the history of the state, TU Dublin was formally established in January 2019. Seven out of the nine Institutes of Technology are involved in TU development consortia, the exceptions being Dundalk IT and Dun Laoghaire IADT. Two or more Institutes of Technology may jointly seek a TU designation.
