Apprentices picket ITs in dispute over fees

Hundreds of apprentices picketed Institutes of Technology around the country today in protest at the introduction of fees for apprenticeship courses.

Institutes of Technology have levied a Student Service Charge of  €223 on all apprentices for services including medical, counselling and sports facilities. The institutes say over half of all apprentices have paid the fee.

In Dublin, the Institutes at Kevin Street, Bolton Street and Blanchardstown will be affected, while colleges in Cork, Tralee, Athlone, Limerick, Galway/Mayo, Sligo and Dundalk will also be picketed.

The apprentices are supported by the Labour Party, the Union of Students in Ireland and a number of trades unions.

The Technical, Engineering and Electrical Union (TEEU) argues that the apprentices are employees rather than students and should be exempt from paying the charge.

"Apprentices are registered with FÁS and the institutes are merely contractors to FÁS," the general secretary of the TEEU, Mr Owen Wills, said. "Effectively this is a stealth tax on young, low paid employees in training."

The union also claims the fees were introduced without consultation and says the apprentices have been threatened with having their exam results withheld if they do not pay up. They said the apprentices who paid only did so because they felt intimidated.
 However, Mr Paul Hannigan, chairman of the Council of Directors  of the Institutes of Technology, insisted there had been full consultation. He said the Institutes consulted with FÁS over a period of two years and the introduction of the fees was delayed until the Minister for Education and Science, Mr Dempsey could consider the views of all parties.

He also said surveys had showed the services being charged for are "used substantially by apprentices". The Institute notes that unwaged students are also expected to pay the charge, and it would be "inequitable" for the waged apprentices not to pay.

The Labour  Party's education spokeswoman, Ms Jan O'Sullivan, called on the institutes to drop the fees. She said apprentices use the college facilities they are being asked to pay for "sparingly" and are effectively only part-time students. She said apprentices earn well below the minimum wage but still do not qualify for third-level grants. Students on grants are exempt from the charges, and apprentices should also qualify for exemption, she argued.

There are over 26,500 apprentices in the State, of whom around 6,000 to 8,000  attend third level courses at any given time.