STAFF at Cork city’s Tyndall
National Institute — the largest research facility of its kind in the country — are warning that an “inequality of pay” issue threatens to spark an exodus of world-class researchers.
The highly-skilled workers are at loggerheads with University College Cork (UCC) management, claiming they are being treated as “second-class staff.”
Despite the Government’s emphasis on the value of researchers, Tyndall staff claim to be paid up to 40% less than their peers in other parts of the university.
The Irish Federation of University Teachers has given examples of the pay inequality, including:
A specific researcher in Tyndall is on 45,749, the UCC rate would be 61,612 — a disparity of more than 34%.
A support worker at Tyndall with an honours degree and 10 years’ experience is paid 33,000 — the university’s pay scales would put him on 52,564
An admin staff member working for over 16 years is paid just over 23,000, UCC’s approved statutory pay scale would be 33,761.
Tyndall, a wing of UCC which conducts ground-breaking research on information technology, has been hailed as finest example in the country of the brightest and best working to deliver a new ‘smart economy’. It was chosen to showcase a new face of Ireland during a visit by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II last year.
But an email sent to all staff at Tyndall this month has revealed a “total devastation of morale” due to the lack of pay parity with other UCC workers.
It claimed UCC’s reputations was being damaged by the inequity and that world-class researchers were going abroad. The email said: “Tyndall-based UCC staff employed in the same roles for the same length of time are paid less than their peers in the remainder of the university.
“There is clear disparity in the career path prospects, annual leave, working hours and benefits associated with various grades available to Tyndall-based UCC staff.”
However, in  a statement, UCC said it was bound by a Labour Court hearing in April this year which failed to find a resolution to the issue, with the court saying it was  precluded by the Croke Park Agreement.
The college said it could not address the issue because it was a “cost increasing claim with financial consequences for the university.”
Tyndall staff  are now being urged to join an online petition to register  their discontent and to garner support for their campaign.
.