University director denies flouting employment laws

The director of communications at Queen’s University in Belfast denied today that he flouted fair employment laws to push ahead with the launch of a campus newspaper.

Catholic man Patrick McWilliams, who is claiming religious and sex discrimination after failing to secure the post of publications officer, accused his boss, Tom Collins, of appointing a Protestant woman because of her journalistic background.

Mr McWilliams, 39, claimed Mr Collins had been under pressure to launch the newspaper Queen’s Now because the vice chancellor, George Bain, had mentioned it in an address to university staff.

He accused him of influencing his fellow members of the selection panel to make the appointment in August 2000.

“I put it to you that in your need to get Queen’s Now published as quickly as possible, your direction of underscoring my key skills led the panel to set aside the fair employment laws which require them to appoint the best candidate for the post,” he said.

Mr McWilliams added Mr Collins had ensured the best of both worlds by retaining his services to produce the undergraduate and postgraduate prospectuses, while appointing a “new face” to produce the newspaper.

“By appointing someone other than me, you were ensuring that you were getting Queen’s Now and getting the core publications produced.”

But Mr Collins, giving evidence on the third day of a Fair Employment case in Belfast, vehemently denied that he had discriminated against the applicant.

“That is not the case. I would never ever prevent somebody from achieving a promotion because of the operational needs of the office. That is just not right or fair,” he said.

He added that his only concern was to find the best person for the new position of publications manager, a very important role within the communication office.

“To make any decision other than on that basis, for some short term gain would be wrong. It would be of absolutely no benefit whatsoever to me or to the university,” he added.

Mr Collins also denied that he had been put under pressure by Mr Bain to produce the newspaper by the autumn of 2000.

“I would not say under pressure in that sense. The vice chancellor sets out the parameters in which he wants to see things delivered and it’s up to the individual directors to do so.

“I don’t recollect any particular heat over Queen’s Now other than from myself. The existing publication was just not delivering what Queen’s needed but the bigger priorities were delivering the university core publications such as the annual report and the prospectuses,” he added.

The hearing was adjourned until tomorrow.