ACADEMIC STAFF HAVE voted in favour of industrial action a dispute in technological universities.

The Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI), which represents a total of 4,600 academic staff, announced today that 92% of members polled in a ballot have voted in favour of taking industrial action, up to and including a strike.

The dispute centres around pay and working conditions at technological universities around the country and a collective agreement concerning the functioning of the institutions.

The union says that the Department of Further and Higher Education and institute management have not kept to an agreement made in 2017 around the establishment of technological universities, which replaced institutes of technologies.

TUI President David Waters has said that regional variations in pay and conditions across technological universities are unacceptable to the union.

He said the outcome of the vote “shows the depth of feeling on this critical issue”.

“The TU sector must continue to have nationally agreed terms and conditions for all the grades represented by the TUI and for any proposed new grades within the scope of the union,” he said.

He accused the department’s approach of being an “attempt to dismantle the sector (which is protected by the agreement) and to force through a desire to have each TU free to operate separately, without regard or recourse to national negotiation”.

“The agreement provided for retention of the sector – previously the Institute of Technology sector and thenceforth the Technological University sector – and for prior meaningful communication, consultation and, where appropriate, negotiation with the TUI on relevant matters. It also specifically provides for a national review of lecturing,” Waters said.

“The TUI has a proven track record, negotiating at national level, in establishing and protecting the terms and conditions for members in the higher education institutions in our sector. Our members accepted the 2017 agreement in good faith in a national ballot.

“Options open to the Union will be assessed by the Executive Committee, and in the meantime we urge DFHERIS to engage meaningfully with us on these key issues.”

The Department of Further and Higher Education has previously said it does not accept it has breached any agreement and that it has engaged with the TUI on the reform of the TU sector.