The news that the four largest trade unions in higher education have come together with the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) to form a coalition to campaign for proper state investment in the sector should be welcome news to anyone interested in the future of the sector, and anyone who has been disheartened by the attempts we’ve seen to convince the government and the general public of the urgent need for money within Ireland’s third-level system.
Planning to fight for a “properly publically funded model”, against the introduction of student loans and for employers to contribute more to the sector, SIPTU, IFUT, TUI, and IMPACT together with USI represent over well 600,000 students and staff in Irish third-level institutes – a number which, if properly utilised, has the potential to bring the funding crisis from how it is now seen, as something of a niche concern, to a mainstream one. The different types of members they have also creates the potential for strong and convincing campaigns, with USI bringing over 350,000 students and trade unions offering not only for the potential for industrial action, which students cannot undertake in the same way, but also a sense of seriousness and urgency that student campaigns typically don’t instill in the general public.
As of yet, however, we don’t know how these campaigns will be run. The unions coming together may not simply be enough to effect any major change. They have been calling individually for more state funding to the sector for years, and have worked together previously on strikes, elections and calling for the publication of the still-unpublished Cassells report. Even back in 2008, TUI, USI and IFUT released a joint statement on the matter, calling the sector “grossly underfunded” and criticising the size of the registration fee, which had been increased to €1,500. Numbers may be a huge strength, but students have shown little willingness in the past to involve themselves in campaigns about future funding of education and USI have not been able to mobilise most.
The formation of this coalition addresses many of the criticisms of how those who desire a state-funded system have campaigned in Ireland. However, this needs to be much more than the unions simply backing one another’s campaigns, as they always have, in order to reach an apathetic government, student body and general population.
