Return of staff elections ‘victory for democracy’ at Maynooth

The Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT) has welcomed the decision by Maynooth University (MU) to scrap controversial plans to end staff elections for its governing body.

The institution had previously revealed that it was going to select five internal members of the authority, scrapping elections, after the passing of Ireland’s new Higher Education Authority Act.

Despite assurances from MU that this would allow a broader range of staff to put themselves forward, IFUT criticised the move and called for the restoration of staff elections.

After a meeting of the current governing authority (GA), the County Kildare institution confirmed to staff that it was going to reverse the decision.

The IFUT described the rolling back of the much-criticised plans as a “massive win” for members.

Posting on Twitter, the union said: “Members in Maynooth are celebrating after the GA decided not only to abandon its hugely unpopular proposal to remove democratic elections but also the amended position of a hybrid arrangement.

“Instead, all of the staff representatives on the GA in Maynooth will be elected by their colleagues. This defence of democracy and accountability was vital to the IFUT members in Maynooth.”

The IFUT said the issue was resolved thanks to the collective show of force and unity by its members.

The Maynooth Students’ Union also welcomed the reversal and said it was proud to have supported the cause.

And Mark Boyle, professor of geography at MU, said it was a “welcome shift” in position by his employer.

“An important and effective intervention by IFUT,” he posted on Twitter.

“Equally, important to acknowledge that it takes courage and confident leadership to listen to critique and pivot. The entire MU community emerges stronger.”

IFUT general secretary Frank Jones had previously said it was regrettable that senior management intended to depart from the “long-standing practice of democratic elections”.

“Instead, they are seeking to implement a process whereby, with the assistance of a private recruitment firm, they would assume the responsibility of handpicking the staff representatives,” he said.

“This deviation from established democratic norms is concerning, especially when issues of poor governance are being debated elsewhere at present.”

The GA said its original decision – which prompted “considerable debate” – was based on a desire to encourage more staff engagement than in previous elections, and to drive the recruitment of a diverse set of candidates.

Mary Canning, chair of the MU GA, said universities were environments in which people with equally principled views on a range of subjects debated their perspectives.

“The GA acknowledges the challenges this issue has posed for certain staff members and believes this decision enables us to bring closure to this matter as we focus our efforts on the forthcoming academic year,” she added.

patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com