The Student Partnership Agreement (SPA), an agreement between the TCDSU and College which seeks to put students and staff in a more collaborative relationship.
In reality, the SPA only benefits senior management. It has not been an effective way for College to take the TCDSU seriously, and it is merely ‘words on a paper’.
It has not resulted in an improved relationship between students and the College, with our institution constantly ignoring students’ needs, starting from the 450 € resit fee in 2018, continued attempts to increase rents in accommodation and fees, to a lack of investment in welfare services. We outline the decisions on the following slides which prove that this is a phony agreement.
- 10% fee hike of 2000€ to 5000€ over 4 years for non-EU and postgraduates enacted from 2023.
- 258 students in fee and rent arrears to College in 2021
- Lack of hybrid learning in a cost of living crisis when so many are working part-time or commuting.
- Accommodation run at extortionate rents for profits of € 10 million a year
- 2.6 million € invested in the war-industry (2021).
- 1-2 months waiting at Counselling and Health services.
- 40 million € spent on property acquistion (2020).
- 41% of staff casualized, over 2,500 on insecure contracts.
- As low as 6,5k € / yr stipends for PhDs in some Schools
Students and staff are under the most severe attack from neoliberal forces, which must be met with the utmost fightback. The coalition of senior management with the government, both members of the ruling class, must be opposed.
The political consciousness of the student movement in the U.K. has come to realise that cooperation with senior management is a dead end. Instead, they agitate against them, in an effort to put pressure on the powers that be. This is an example we should follow.
Please see the petition and sign it if you are a Trinity student. If it reaches 250, a referendum will be triggered on it by the TCDSU. Then, we will be able to put pressure on College by boycotting the SPA.
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