Frank Jones

IFUT members will take part in the 24-hour public service work stoppage on Thursday, 12 November. Members will withdraw their labour for the full day and join public rallies in Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway from 12 noon to 2.00pm. Ten days of intensive negotiations have not produced proposals capable of resolving the dispute. The outstanding issues remain clear: pay, protection of living standards, measures for lower-paid workers and local bargaining. Our previous action demonstrated the collective strength of IFUT members across higher education. On 12 November, we build on that pressure. IFUT remains ready to reach an agreement. Government now needs to put forward proposals that unions can credibly recommend to members.

📢 IFUT Executive unanimously endorses a 24-hour public service work stoppage on Thursday 12 Nov after ten days of talks produced no credible pay proposal. ✊ Rallies nationwide. Read the article 👉 ifut.ie/content/ifut-executi… #IFUT #PublicServicePay #Strike

📰 Published in the Irish Times, Letters to the Editor: Frank Jones Frank Jones, General Secretary of the Irish Federation of University Teachers, asks how the Government can find €8 billion to repay bailout loans early while pleading scarcity on higher education funding. 🎓 📉 Funding the Future (2022) acknowledged a €307m annual core funding shortfall 
📉 Since then, the sector's budget has risen by about €174m a year, while student numbers, inflation and pay costs have all grown 
📉 Budget 2027 proposes just €10m more, far short of the accumulated deficit 
📉 The OECD's Education at a Glance 2026 places Ireland among the lowest spenders on education as a share of GDP 
📉 Per student, Ireland spends $14,799 at bachelor's level and above, against an OECD average of $16,405 (PPP-adjusted) Education pays back through higher earnings, tax revenues, productivity and innovation. Those returns deserve weighing against the projected €90m saving from early repayment. His conclusion: letting higher education deteriorate while accelerating repayment of old debts is a false economy. ✅ #HigherEducation #IrishPolitics #Budget2027

📢 Statement from Frank Jones, General Secretary Public service pay talks are ongoing, and the indication from negotiators is that we should have a clearer picture by the end of this week. There is no certainty at this stage that the talks will produce an agreement capable of resolving the dispute. We remain hopeful, however, that the process will deliver an acceptable outcome for IFUT members. As soon as we have substantive news to share, we will update members without delay. Once again, congratulations and thanks to everyone who took part in our first day of industrial action. It was an enormous success and a powerful demonstration of our collective resolve. We know we can count on that same solidarity and commitment should further action be necessary. ✊ #IFUT #PublicServicePay #HigherEducation

🗳️ Meet Prof Patrick Paul Walsh, IFUT’s candidate for the Seanad by-election (Cultural & Educational Panel). 📚 UCD Professor 🌍 Ex-UN SDSN VP Education ⚖️ Evidence-based policy voice Full profile: ifut.ie/content/patrick-paul… #IFUT #SeanadByElection #HigherEducation

📣 The ICTU Public Services Committee has agreed to suspend the 21 October strike. Following intensive engagement, including direct intervention by the Taoiseach, a new process led by former Labour Court Chairman Kevin Foley will seek to establish the basis for formal WRC negotiations. Workers organised. That created leverage. Now we need to turn it into a settlement. Read more: ifut.ie/content/21-october-s… #IFUT #UnionStrike #HigherEducation

✊ After yesterday's inspirational day of industrial action in higher education, IFUT Gen Sec Frank Jones attended today's Dáil debate on the Labour motion on Public Sector Pay, at the invitation of @ivanabacik Next strike: 21 October 📣

Solidarity from the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies picket line with @aliceeire expressing support 👏 #IFUT #PublicServicePay #Dublin

Tomorrow, we strike ✊ Reminder: industrial action goes ahead tomorrow. Check with your branch for picket details and bring a colleague. Solidarity 📣 #PublicSectorPay #IFUT #HigherEducation

The Government knew the public service agreement expired on 30 June. So why are workers being blamed for the delay? 🤔 The €1.2bn is for 2027. You can’t pay October’s bills with next year’s budget. Read more: ifut.ie/content/government-k… #PublicServicePay #HigherEducation #IFUT

1/ ✊ IFUT members stood together on World Teachers' Day, withdrawing labour from 12 to 1 p.m. in the first action of our public sector dispute. Thank you to every member, rep, activist and student who took part. 🧵 #IFUT #WorldTeachersDay #JoinYourUnion

🕊️ IFUT condemns the Russian drone attack on the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, which caused loss of life and injury. We stand with Ukraine's researchers and call for the protection of institutions of learning. 📚 ifut.ie/content/ifut-condemn… #Ukraine #IFUT #ProtectEducation

One hour. One message. 🕛 Today on World Teachers' Day, IFUT members stopped work from 12 to 1pm at 10 third-level institutions across the country. Next: 24-hour strike Wed 14 Oct. #IFUT #WorldTeachersDay #FairPayNow

"Staff at 10 col­leges are set to take the first strike action in the form of a one ­hour stop­page between noon and 1pm on Monday. The third-level insti­tu­tions affected are Dub­lin City Uni­versity, Trin­ity Col­lege Dub­lin, Uni­versity Col­lege Dub­lin, Uni­versity Col­lege Cork, Maynooth Uni­versity, the Uni­versity of Gal­way, Mary Immacu­late Col­lege, Edu­ca­tional Research Centre, Royal Irish Academy, and Dub­lin Insti­tute for Advanced Stud­ies. The one-hour stop­page comes on the same day teach­ers are due to join a co-ordin­ated work-to-rule with up to 180,000 pub­lic ser­vants." #IFUT #PublicSectorPay #WorldTeachersDay pressreader.com/ireland/iris…

Members will engage in a one-hour work stoppage on Monday 5 October. "People cannot be expected to keep getting poorer in real terms while the cost of living continues to rise," said IFUT General Secretary Frank Jones. "Government needs to put a credible pay proposition on the table," he added. #PublicSectorPay #IFUT rte.ie/news/ireland/2026/100…

How do students feel about the upcoming Public Sector Pay dispute? IFUT Assistant General Secretary Robert McNamara explains on @gbayfm 🎓 Why: Govt has no credible pay offer for university staff. 93% voted for action. 📅 Oct 5, 14, 21 – strikes ahead. Stand with our educators 💪 #IFUT #PublicSectorPay #HigherEd

12 noon on Monday. One hour. One message. 🕛 IFUT members are stopping work for one hour on World Teachers' Day. Fair pay for those who teach the nation. Government: negotiate. #IFUT #WorldTeachersDay #PublicServicePay

“IFUT members voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action up to and including strike action, with the first action set to take place on Monday, October 5, World Teachers’ Day.” independent.ie/county/galway… #IFUT #HigherEd #PublicServiePay

Ireland has 19 tertiary students per teaching staff member. The OECD average is 15. Slightly better than 2015, but the gap remains. Budget 2027 must deliver sustained core funding, permanent posts and action on precarity. Read more: ifut.ie/content/oecd-figures… #Budget2027 #HigherEd

📢 IFUT + ASTI, INTO & TUI call on Govt to withdraw proposed Article 88bis of the GDPR, which weakens data protections as AI expands across education. We're also asking Minister James Lawless @lawlessj to engage educators on new AI tools for students. 🎓🔒 Read more: ifut.ie/content/education-un… #DataProtection #AIinEducation #HigherEd