UCC’s IMI refusing to engage with trade union

UCC is a separate legal entity from IMI.

The country’s leading management training body, which is wholly owned by UCC, is refusing to engage with a trade union that represents the majority of its staff.

The Irish Management Institute (IMI) went through a restructuring in recent months as a result of a major drop in business due to the pandemic. 

A number of staff were made redundant as a result of the restructuring and those who remained approached Siptu with a view to getting representation for collective bargaining. However, the IMI refused to engage with Siptu. The union then approached the Workplace Relations Commission to resolve the issue but the IMI refused initially to attend at the commission.

A stand-off ensued and the union campaigned for the university to intervene with its wholly-owned subsidiary. The IMI’s position on recognising the union is at odds with UCC’s industrial relations policy in which management engage with a variety of trade unions.

SIPTU launched an email campaign in which 1,500 emails were sent to the president of UCC John O’Halloran requesting intervention. Last week, the IMI changed its position and has now agreed to attend at the Workplace Relations Commission.

Separate legal entity

A spokesperson for UCC said that IMI was a separate legal entity from the university. 

“UCC is informed by IMI that the IMI will attend at the Workplace Relations Commission on the matters raised by SIPTU. UCC will be making no further comment during the WRC process.” 

Labour party TD Ged Nash, who raised the matter in the Dáil, pointed out that UCC had a long record of generally positive industrial relations which was at odds with the position of IMI in this instance.

“It is very concerning that IMI is an organisation that trains senior managers and directors and helps to create the corporate culture in this country, and at a time when we should be focusing on matters of economic equality and a better post-pandemic Ireland, it is unacceptable for an organisation like the IMI to ruthlessly oppose their staff having access to collective bargaining."

UCC bought the management training company in 2016 in a deal that required the college to borrow €18m for the purchase. There was controversy surrounding the transaction after staff in UCC raised questions as to the financial viability of the IMI and whether it represented value for money.

"The IMI is financially independent from UCC,” a college spokesperson said.