asked the Minister for Education if he will make a statement on the dispute at the National Institute for Higher Education.
Written Answers. - NIHE Dispute.
385.
Two groups of staff at the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick, are in dispute with the Governing Body of the institute.
I have already explained the background to one of these disputes in my reply to the question asked in the House on Tuesday, 13 December 1977—that is, the dispute in which members of the academic staff of the institute have refused to participate in student assessments until an "acceptable offer" of payment is made for invigilation and marking of scripts.
Negotiations are still in progress between the governing body and the academic staff and I understand that pending decision on the claim the academic staff have agreed, by way of recognition of progress in the negotiations to date, to set the examinations for Michaelmas 1977 and henceforth.
In March 1977, ASTMS (The Assocciation of Scientific, Technical and Managerial Staff) reactivated a claim by technical staff at the institute for parity with technicians employed by the City of Dublin Vocational Education Committee. This claim had been rejected by the Labour Court in 1976. In November 1977, the Labour Court again rejected this claim.
Notwithstanding the Labour Court's recommendation, the technical staff at the institute have taken industrial action in support of this claim. This action by the union appears to be in breach of the national agreement. I understand that the institute has referred the case to the Steering Committee of the Employer Labour Conference for its advice.