Almost 100 students staged a protest outside BIMM Music Institute Dublin in solidarity with teachers who face job losses as part of a proposed staff redundancy plan.
Lining Francis Street with cardboard placards, the students of one of Ireland's top music colleges were joined by Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT) members to express their rejection of these new plans.
IFUT is representing BIMM’s staff and claims the new senior lecturer and freelance roles offer inferior terms and conditions.
Assistant General Secretary at IFUT Robert McNamara was at the protest and warned that if staff "are casualised or made freelance it cannot be a good thing for their environment".
He applauded the students’ show of solidarity and explained that "the students understand the connection between their learning environment and the staff’s working environment".
Mr McNamara said the protest was "quite festive" as students were singing in support of teachers they "respect and admire".
Joe Wall has been a lecturer at BIMM since the college opened in 2011, but he is now at risk of losing his job to the proposed plan.
He told RTÉ News that he, along with his peers, were told "out of the blue" on 8 January that 35 out of 53 teachers would be made redundant.
He described the move as a "step backwards" and claimed staff had not had a pay rise in 10 years.
"They’ve put us in a position where you’re damned if you do, and damned if you don’t," Mr Wall said in relation to suggestions that the college planned to employ 18 of the 53 people as senior lecturers after redundancies were made.
Mr Wall said the new demand that would be put on lecturers was unmanageable and staff would not be "paid enough to live off", saying the college were looking for "Swiss army knife teachers" spread across lots of modules.
He felt heart warmed by the show of support from students and said: "I really feel boosted by that. It’s fantastic to see. Students value us more than management."
BIMM first year student representative Leanna de Búrca helped organise what she said the students were calling "gatherings" in support of the college’s staff.
Taking part in the protest today, she said the new plan was "deplorable" and something "beyond imagination".
"We’re all very shuck up. It will completely limit how we learn. People we’ve grown to connect with could be gone."
Ms de Búrca went on to outline the appeal of BIMM for her and many others – the lecturers, with their "unique diversity and industry experience."
She said: "There’s only so much lecturers can say in confidence so we’re taking to the stage in solidarity."
Noting a sad atmosphere, she explained that the day was "really emotional" as students stood up for "teachers whose jobs are at risk".
A spokesperson for BIMM told RTÉ News in a statement: "The proposed changes are a direct response to student feedback we have received, in which they have asked for greater staff availability and a more engaged and accessible teaching workforce.
"Students will continue to have access to a wide pool of industry talent, including full-time Senior Lecturers and Associate Lecturers in specialist areas, all of whom will receive an equitable level of remuneration.
"We are committed to preserving BIMM's intimate, hands-on learning environment and we believe these proposed changes will further strengthen students’ learning experience.
"It is not the case that 35 people will be made redundant. We are proposing to reallocate lecturers to the new positions and anticipate that the breadth of experience and industry connection available to our students to be maintained."
