NUIG LECTURERS WORK LONGER HOURS THAN EUROPEAN COUNTERPARTS

Date Published: 21-Apr-2012

Lecturers at NUI Galway and other universities across Ireland work longer hours than their European counterparts.

That’s according to a new study released today and led by the Irish Federation of University Teachers.

The data finds that senior academics here work an average of 50 hours per week, compared to 48 hours in the rest of Europe.

It also finds that they spend 11 hours each week on administration tasks, representing 22 percent of their working time, compared to a European average of 8 hours.

There are one thousand and sixty six academic staff at NUI Galway, which has over 17 thousand students.

The study follows calls from Fine Gael MEP Sean Kelly to have the pay for University lecturers and professors, including those in Galway, justified.

However, speaking to Galway Bay fm news from the Irish Federation of University Teachers conference today [Apr 21], General Secretary Mike Jennings says academics work extremely hard for modest salaries.