‘The salary isn’t close to what I’d need for a place of my own’: UCD researchers frustrated by pay

Renting a room in a house full of strangers is not exactly what Leonie expected when she came to Dublin to work as postdoctoral researcher at UCD.
“You feel like you are a student again but I’m not a student. I’ve done all that and this is my job but the salary I’m paid isn’t even close to what I would need to get a place of my own,” she says.
Leonie was one of several postdoctoral researchers (postdocs) at UCD to speak to The Irish Times last week. They highlighted issues related to pay, accommodation, a lack of practical support, teaching opportunities and career progression paths they say are negatively impacting current workers at the university and hindering its ability to attract the best international talent.
Their concerns, brought together in the results of a survey completed by 114 of the roughly 350 postdocs at the institution, include pay scales that start at €44,000 for people who all have PhDs and generally have 10 years or more of third-level education. Other concerns are a lack of long-term security, difficulties securing entitlements like maternity leave, and a general lack of support with issues like visas, accommodation and career development.
More than a third of the survey respondents came to work in Ireland from outside the EU and most were from overseas. Some say costs like work permit renewals are paid by the university. Others say they are not, one of many inconsistencies to which they point.
Travel to conferences across Europe, a basic part of career development, they argue, is difficult because they do not get the funds provided to college staff members. In addition, they routinely struggle to get the embassy appointments required to obtain visas.
In terms of housing, Mathieu says his hopes of bringing his wife and children here during his contract are fading because he cannot find suitable accommodation he can afford. He has had to move three times since arriving himself. Jean, another postdoc, has had to move 80 miles from Dublin to find a house for her family.
As for career development, Marie says she has been told if she does get any of the teaching hours she desperately wants, to strengthen her chances of getting a permanent lecturing job, then she will have to do the hours for free.
All of the names used have been changed at the interviewee’s request not because they fear any penalisation by UCD but because all of those who spoke say they expect to have to move on to other institutions, most likely in other countries and do not want to be associated with having raised concerns.
The survey, carried out by the UCD Research Staff Association, found that 52 per cent of respondents said they spent 50-70 per cent of their income on basic living expenses, while 24 per cent said they spent more than 70 per cent on them.
Thirty-four per cent lived with flatmates or a landlord, 30 per cent said their housing was poor and 28 per cent described their accommodation situation as insecure.
Just over half, 53 per cent, of those who had been employed at UCD for at least 13 months, had not been moved off the entry-level pay grade, and some indicated they had not received the level of remuneration they had been promised at the recruitment stage. Most said they wanted to teach but opportunities were often limited or non-existent. The survey suggested that 40 per cent of the hours obtained were either not paid properly or not paid at all.
The survey highlights 12 areas of concern and makes recommendations in all. Some, the association says, would be relatively easy and inexpensive to implement but would improve conditions for those on contracts, generally lasting between one and four years, while also ensuring “UCD will be a more attractive destination for top international talent” into the future.
“The work we do, the research, is important and it brings in a lot of revenue to the university but we are often treated like we are students by staff who actually have the same qualifications as us. It is very demoralising,” says Cathy.
The association says it has had some positive engagement with the university, which was approached for comment by The Irish Times, since the survey was published and hopes to see some of the issues raised being actively addressed. However, some postdocs express regret about having moved here because the salary is low concerning the cost of living and many see their futures lying elsewhere.
They readily acknowledge the difficulties they encounter are not limited to UCD, something confirmed by the Irish Federation of University Teachers (Ifut) which said the survey results “shine a light on the problem of pay and precarious employment for research staff”.
“This is an issue which exists across the higher education sector,” says Ifut deputy general secretary Miriam Hamilton.
She adds that an Oireachtas committee report recommended significant improvements to structures and funding but that as things stand, pay rates and terms of employment had been set across the sector without any input by the workers concerned or unions.
“The difficulties are immediately clear. Researchers are spending decades on successive fixed-term contracts with no prospect of securing long-term employment in academia; many are remaining at an entry-level postdoc level-one grade for many years with no real progression routes.
“We need to develop a fit-for-purpose research career framework.”