Labour Court recommends maintaining Trinity College Dublin subject librarian staffing

The Labour Court recommended maintaining staffing levels for subject librarians at Trinity College Dublin while an independent evaluation is carried out, after finding management’s plan to reduce staffing by 0.5 full-time equivalent breached a 2011 collective agreement. The dispute concerned staffing in the Readers’ Services Division of the university library. The union, represented by the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union (IFUT), said the agreed staffing level was 10.75 full-time equivalents. Management disputed that the 2011 arrangements were a collective agreement and said service needs had changed. In a recommendation dated 18 January 2024, the Court said the parties should consider the evaluation and negotiate revised arrangements.