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LAST UPDATE | 6 Feb
LECTURERS AT BIMM Music Institute Dublin are to begin strike action on Monday against the institute’s management’s plans to “cut jobs, restructure teaching roles, and introduce insecure freelance contracts”.
According to the Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT), BIMM Dublin has formally notified the Department of Enterprise, Trade, and Employment of collective redundancies, which places over 50 employees at risk.
The proposed restructuring will see many existing lecture roles replaced by a small number of senior positions alongside freelance Associate Lecturer contracts.
The IFUT warned that the introduction of the proposed freelance model “removes job security, employment protections, and stable hours”. It would also result in earning reductions for lecturers, it said.
A letter sent by BIMM management to alumni and industry contacts this week insisted that this is not the case.
The letter said that in addition to the current permanent team of course leaders, deputy course leaders, and principal lecturers, BIMM has 53 lecturers, “of whom 51% work less than 6 per week on average across the year”.
It said that for most lecturers, BIMM is not their only source of employment, and the restructuring is a cost neutral measure.
“Generally, any restructure results in roles becoming redundant rather than people. In our case, the report of 35 people losing jobs is inaccurate and incendiary,” the letter said. It added that the measures proposed are in response to students’ feedback.
Students of the institute, which has educated numerous Irish musicians including Grammy-nominated band Fontaines D.C. and The Murder Capital, have staged protests against the proposed restructuring.
In a post to Instagram, The Murder Capital released a joint statement in support of their former lecturers at BIMM, saying that the education they had received from the lecturers at the music college “gave us a firm grasp on how to dig deeper into our craft”.
“Without the heart of the lecturers, the two buildings themselves are just skeletons. It’s the people that fill these halls and classrooms with both inspiration and ambition that deserve respect.
“The students deserve better, the Irish and international music scene deserve better, but mostly the lecturers themselves deserve a lot better. We are in total solidarity with them all.”
BIMM lecturer and IFUT representative, Joe Wall said that it is the lecturers and staff of the college who make it what it is.
“BIMM is squeezing every drop of value out of its teaching staff while devaluing them at the same time. All we are asking for is a fair deal that reflects the work we do.”
The IFUT said that BIMM management has refused to engage in “meaningful discussions” with the union, or confirm participation in talks at the Workplace Relations Commission, leaving staff with “no choice but to strike”.
IFUT remains ready to enter immediate negotiations with management to resolve the dispute, a representative said.
Strike action is currently planned for five days across February.
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