Adjunct and Precarious Education Workers Bill, 2017

That Dáil Éireann:

Noting:

Adjunct, temporary, part-time and hourly-paid workers are an increasing part of the core of Ireland's third level workforce, with some estimates showing a growth from 22% to more than half in the past four decades.

These workers receive low wages and suffer from chronic job insecurity.

On average these workers, many with Ph.Ds, have been working in academia for more than seven years.

Nearly half earn less than €10,000 a year.

Third-level institutes and universities compete for external funding and investment indexed to ‘output’, while trying to cut costs in areas that are not considered ‘productive’. As such, permanent well-paid positions are increasingly undesirable.

Part-time faculty who wish to air grievances risk losing work hours and being denied future positions or gigs generally appointed ad hoc or informally.

Existing union agreements limit support from full-time staff via 'no-strike' agreements.

Part-time teachers may not be paid for grading, for office hours or even for devising entire courses from scratch.

Hiring teachers part-time and short-term increases their workload while producing inferior education.

Adjunct and part-time teachers are offered little to no choice in their course assignments.

Support for administrative staff, increased by 240%, has outstripped all faculty by almost 400% since 1985, yet administrative spending has only increased 85%.

Poor and working class students, first generation college students, and minority students are more likely to be taught by adjuncts and other precarious educators.

The use of adjuncts has increased the inequality within full-time faculty among women, minorities and the lgbtqia community.

Be it enacted by the Oireachtas as follows:

Short title and commencement:

This act may be cited as the Adjunct Workers Act, 2017.

This act shall come into effect upon its passage through Dáil Éireann.

Definitions

Adjunct - A researcher or teacher who is paid for a specific purpose in teaching or research and on a ‘fee-per-item’ basis, which may be annualised to a fixed annual salary; including temporary, part-time and hourly-paid work. This excludes those currently engaged in full-time education, or in another role of employment whose weekly hours are greater than or equal to thirty. Adjunct Workers Act, 2017

The Department of Education will meet with representatives from third-level institutions, teachers union representatives, the Third Level Workers Watch, and a council of representatives from among adjunct professionals.

The Department of Education will renegotiate union contracts to allow for adjunct unions and solidarity between the full-time teachers unions and the adjuncts unions.

The Department of Education will renegotiate support for wages to balance the needs of essential faculty against the non-essential staff, assuring a living wage for adjunct faculty within the first year of employment and earnings no less that 85% of that given to full-time staff of equal employment length by their third year at any accredited institution.

The Department of Education will assure that adjunct faculty must bill and account for all work, including grading, office work, and and course development.

The Department of Education will work with representatives from third-level institutions, teachers union representatives, the Third Level Workers Watch, and a council of representatives from among adjunct professionals and a union legal team to develop a standardised process of grievances appeals and protections.

Any administration linked to intimidating adjuncts from joining union efforts, or full-time faculty from supporting adjunct union efforts will be subject to legal scrutiny.

Adjuncts unions will not be limited to wage negotiations, but will also manage demands over curriculum control, access to facilities, and other concerns afforded to full-time faculty within the context of adjunct work and with goal of improving adjunct standards of living and the quality of third level education.

Institutions may negotiate with employees to avoid adjunct unions where tenure-tracks are replaced by increased governance privileges among all staff, longer contracts, and similar gains. Non-traditional models will be judged by the Department of Education with a mandate to protect students and faculty from exploitation.

The adjunct faculty within each department within each university will be extended the right to vote on whether to unionise. This vote will be binding with a majority.

This Bill was submitted by /u/fiachaire on behalf of the Workers Party

Debate:https://www.reddit.com/r/mDailEireann/comments/86znuj/b140_domestic_violence_amendment_act_2017_vote_now/

The voting for this bill will close on the 28th of March, at 10PM

Please vote Tá, Níl or Staon