Sinn Féin Education Spokesperson Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire TD has called on Minister for State Mary Mitchell O’Connor and DKIT management to engage with staff in the coming days in order to avoid next weeks strike action.

Teachta Ó Laoghaire said;

“I hope Minister Mitchell O’Connor and management at DKIT can this week come to the table and discuss the future of DKIT with staff in an attempt to resolve this dispute.

“It is remarkable that 99% of staff have voted for industrial action, and Sinn Féin stands with them.

“This dispute seems to be one which is relatively easy to resolve, and centres around a lack of consultation, which is not much to ask. 

“What is required is a genuine engagement between DKIT management and the representative body of the staff, who are entitled to have their concerns heard in a formal manner.

“I note the TUI have been quoted in today’s Irish Times and said with regard to management, that staff have experienced ‘an increasingly autocratic and dysfunctional approach which has attempted to suppress open discussion and replace the traditional collaborative way of doing business with a culture of ill-conceived unilateral diktat’.

“It seems to me that we have reached an important juncture when it comes to the future of DKIT, and it is important that all steps are taken to ensure its future is as successful as it can be.”