Staff and students will address the media ahead of an Oireachtas Committee hearing.
Staff and students at Carlow College are calling for greater transparency over the institution's future.
They're due to address the media ahead of an Oireachtas Committee hearing examining the proposed transfer of higher education assets and collective redundancies affecting 87 staff.
Campaigners are seeking stronger protections for workers and students, and want meaningful engagement with all parties involved in the process.
Dr Regina Donlon, lecturer and staff representative at Carlow College says they are being left in the dark
SIPTU representatives will call on the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Higher Education to launch an immediate examination into the decision to wind down Carlow College, St Patrick’s, as well as the flawed process that led to it.
The Union, representing almost 70% of the workforce at the historic institution, has argued that staff and their recognised trade union were entirely excluded from meaningful engagement until key decisions regarding the college’s future had already been finalised behind closed doors.
SIPTU representatives will address the Oireachtas Committee later today and warn that the sudden decision leaves all 87 dedicated staff members facing redundancy over the next two years, after being presented with what was effectively a "fait accompli".
Speaking in advance of the hearing in Leinster House, SIPTU Education Organiser, Yvonne McGrath, said: "Our members fully understood that the College faced financial challenges and they were entirely prepared to work constructively towards a sustainable, long-term future. Up to the very end, every indication given to us was that integration with the South East Technological University (SETU) remained the agreed strategic direction.
"Instead, our members were presented with a fait accompli, a decision to wind down the College through a two-year teach-out. This was delivered only after a Memorandum of Understanding had already been signed, effectively deciding the future of the College and its staff without a single shred of prior consultation or involvement."
SIPTU will tell Committee members that staff were systematically denied any meaningful opportunity to contribute to discussions on viable alternatives over the last four years, alternatives that could have protected stable employment and preserved the College's generations of academic expertise.
The Union will also strongly question why a multi-year integration process, which was actively embedded in the College’s own Strategic Plan, ultimately resulted in outright closure rather than a structured transfer of students, programmes, and staff into SETU.
Yvonne McGrath said: "The fundamental question remains completely unanswered. If integration was the strategic objective, why did it end with the unilateral closure of Carlow College and the destruction of every single job? Was every alternative, including the potential application of Transfer of Undertakings (TUPE) regulations, properly and robustly examined?
"Most importantly, what is the future for this highly skilled workforce whose expertise has built this institution over generations? SIPTU will not stand by and allow workers to be cast aside without transparency."
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