In recent months the staff of Carlow College have faced the sudden loss of their jobs as the college is closed and acquired by South East Technological University. The workers were led to believe that the future arrangements and merger involving SETU would involve the transfer of employment. It now appears that this is no longer the case, and this has caused huge uncertainty for all involved. We have heard from the Department that there was consultation and engagement on the closing of Carlow College and the transfer of its assets to SETU, instead of a merger, which was what the staff and students of the college were led to believe was happening. Staff did not find out that their jobs were gone and this continuity not guaranteed until the announcement in May. This has caused enormous distress among staff, many of whom have devoted decades of service to Carlow College and who have spoken to my colleague, Senator Stephenson, who has done a huge amount of work on this. A protest was held last weekend by staff and students of the college who are feeling incredibly let down and distressed by this change of circumstances. They need transparency, accountability and honesty from every party involved - the Department of further and higher education, Carlow College and South East Technological University. Vague platitudes of informal arrangements or opportunities for continued employment do not reassure these workers who now have zero security. It is my understanding that the Department for higher education has decided that the transfer of undertakings regulations do not apply in this situation. This is disputed, particularly as this is not the simple sale of a campus but the merging of one educational institution with another.
It is clear to me that this situation has been poorly handled by all involved and it is the staff and students who now face the consequences of this. The needs and asks of the staff and students are clear. First, they want the Department to oversee a working group involving the Department, SETU, Carlow College and staff representatives, including trade unions. This would be to examine the options that could preserve employment for them. They are also asking for the Government to guarantee enhanced redundancy protections through the ring-fencing of five weeks' redundancy arrangements for affected employees. I am keen to hear an outline from the Minister of State's Department on what it will do to ensure that pathways to staff redeployment or transfer into SETU can still be facilitated and that proposed redundancy packages are adequate and fair, especially in light of the decades of service many of these staff members have given to Carlow College.
As employment spokesperson for my party, I have to say that again and again we are coming across issues where workers are having to face uncertainty in a framework that does not protect workers' rights strongly enough. It is that simple. They have to ask - there is no expectation that they have certain rights within this situation - that those minimal redundancy offers are going to be met and their representative bodies will be recognised. Instead we have a voluntarist system, which I believe does not protect workers adequately, particularly in situations like this.
I will also point out that we do not want to see any differential treatment between staff, for example, in one of the more established universities versus staff in this kind of a university. Carlow College serves many of the disadvantaged communities within the area. It provides crucial educational opportunities to people in these communities. We want to make sure that they get the same treatment and the same recognition for their many years of service as any other third level employee.
