Has DUST shut down?

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Something in the Indo today about 5 employees of DUST suing TCDSU for being "laid off unfairly".

Has the place been shut down?

Nietzschean

from what i've heard yep, all their business within the college has been handed off outside travel agents....

Andrew 83

SIPTU are also coming out against USI for an accused unfair dismissal

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wonder how many people have ever been "fairly dismissed" in the eyes of SIPTU?

although, if anyone has ever read any of the files from the employment appeals tribunal, it is virtually impossible to be fairly dismissed under current laws.

read a case once about a guy who had been drinking heavily on duty (a repeated offence) and crashed the truck he was driving into a load of company stock destroying it. but, because the letter firing him hadn't been typed in an "appropriate fashion" - he was given compensation!

Stargal

Roundtower2 wrote:

Something in the Indo today about 5 employees of DUST suing TCDSU for being "laid off unfairly".

Has the place been shut down?

Yeah it wasn't financially viable to have it anymore apparently - since so many people are booking flights directly themselves, pouring money into a travel agency made less and less sense.

One of the people who was being laid off was a pregnant woman who was going to lose any maternity benefits/entitlements because of the redundancy. Bad form.

Andrew 83

I'm not really surprised it's had to close down, I've been on a holiday during each of the last few summers and never used a travel agent.

Nietzschean

stargal wrote:

One of the people who was being laid off was a pregnant woman who was going to lose any maternity benefits/entitlements because of the redundancy. Bad form.

i dunno continuing on DUST so someone can keep their benefits seems a bit mad, once you start personalising the cases when you shut something down it gets more open to challanges and gets messy no? its harsh alright but surely the staff of DUST knew it was coming?

little miss

About time for Dust to close down! They've been dying a slow death for years. I tried, on numerous occasions, to book a holiday with them only for them to either refer me to book elsewhere or quote a ridiculous price.

They have also been very unwilling to adapt the business to try and make it work. Maybe the SU can use the space productively now?

Without a doubt they knew it was coming - sure it has been for years. They should be happy they managed to keep it going for as long as they did! Good riddance!

Andrew 83

Nietzschean wrote:

i dunno continuing on DUST so someone can keep their benefits seems a bit mad, once you start personalising the cases when you shut something down it gets more open to challanges and gets messy no? its harsh alright but surely the staff of DUST knew it was coming?

They could close dust without laying her off

John

Andrew 83 wrote:

They could close dust without laying her off

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Andrew 83 wrote:

They could close dust without laying her off

lol - i must echo John2's confusion?

the business is closing, there is no more work - so they should invent a job for her for a year, so she can take the year off??!!

what are they teaching these undergrads these days?!

Crash

No more work, there are no staff vacancies with the SU at the moment, and inventing a job just so a woman can keep her benefits is just plain stupid.

I'm lost as to your point here andrew

I'm kinda lost on their unfair dismissal case - a business is being shut down, thus the employers get redundancy packages etc. ok its **** that they have to lose their jobs, but still, its life. ****ing sue happy people.

wheresthebeef

its not that the SU is laying off 5 people, it is restructuring and removing 5 positions which are no longer required. its not that 5 employees have been targeted for any particular reason. it is simply unfortunate that one of these positions is currently being held by a pregnant woman.

surely no-one would suggest that someone else be fired, and the pregnant lady get that persons job.

that is if this infamous pregnant lady exists. siptu will never like the fact that their workers are being offered redundancy, but things like this happen all the time.and lets not forget, this people are being given redundancy, a process which is regulated by law. so they have to be getting a fair deal.

Thats my opinion of it anyway.

(This post is purely personal and does not represent the views of anyone else, or any other organisation)

xeduCat

People, every redundancy and labour law case is different. You can't just judge what is fair or unfair based on what you think is appropriate, having no knowledge of salary, contract terms, amount of notice, actions of employer and staff, collective agreement if in place, compliance with statutory requirements on redundancy, and so on. I doubt anyone posting here has reviewed the contracts, let alone reviewed periods of notice and payments offered and conduct of the players involved (all of which are absolutely crucial in dismissal cases).

So don't be so quick to dismiss as just sue-happy, please?

Awayindahils

I know that I've only been around for a year but DUST from the sounds of it was just a vortex where money was concerned. Money went in for no real results. Things have changed alot since DUST was opened and the internet is much more efficient for booking holidays now a days. I book a trip to London in a few mionutes today, far quicker than it would have been if I'd gone through a travel agents and cheaper.

It's always difficult laying peple off, and yes a pregnant woman makes the whole thing seem even more unfair but her losing her benefits is an entirely moot point in the gneral argument for and against. The SU will not, and fairly should not get away without some sort of settlement for the 5 former employees, but there is no need for a song and dance about one individual. I know that this is probably feminist sacralidge but would a man losing out on paternity benefits big made as big a deal of- highly unlikely.

The closure of DUST as unfortunate as it is, is both neccessary and not all that much of a shock.

I do feel a sense of loss, that my first year in Trinity was the last for so many things, but the college and the union are strapped for cash. Closures and loss of services may well become the norm, even more so than they have been in the next few years. Though this should not be allowed to happen, and I hope to God that it dosn't with the way things are it may be the reality.

There will be no huge sense of loss, sorry there will be little loss felt at all over the closure of DUST. Very few people used it except for travel cards, things move on and times change and DUST was an used and very costly relic.

Nothingcompares

I got passport photos and student travel card from here. I always had to queue behind nontrinity students on the occasions i did this. the dude working there was a gent. hope he takes his redundancy and gets a nice job elsewhere.

i dont even think the different departments in college used dust for booking flights to conferences etc., one wonders what actual service it was offering.

i've a lot of sympathy for a pregnant woman being laid off in the middle of her maternity leave etc. hope things work themselves out.

Andrew 83

I meant they could arrange some kind of special case of a maternity payment and then release her after that expires perhaps. I don't know the ins and outs or whether she'd already been granted maternity leave. If so it would make sense to give her some extra money in this regard as the couple were hardly budgeting for a perhaps large reduction in income when planning to have the child.

(I'm also a postgrad these days Michael )

Bartron Prime

While it is always sad to see yet another service from the Student Union go, I don't think DUST is one service whose loss will cause much consternation. As people have pointed out, it was simply a vortex where money happened to go. I could think of much better things to sacrifice....

The idea behind it was good. Students have problems getting cheap travel and/or flexible holiday packages so why not have a specific travel service? And, by providing it itself, the S.U. helped fulfill its mandate of being a real service for students. Within the context of the early to late 1990s it was a service that had real merit. Before the advent of online bookings, flexibility was not something inherently built into the market.

But, alas, the economy strikes again. It was simply unsustainable. Even in a partnership with SAYIT it couldn't make itself viable. It had simply become uncompetitive where you can just go to Ryanai and grab a flight to Italy (even if they screw you by jacking up the price every day... Damn.). Remember, even USIT couldn't compete and went under.

All in all, it's sad people lost their jobs. And with the S.U. as strapped as it is, I presume transferring them internally isn't an option? I wonder what will be lost next (my chance of a good degree doesn't count)? Place your bets people....

Crash

hrmm - wonder will colleges debt be written off as a bad debt...

John

Nothingcompares wrote:

i dont even think the different departments in college used dust for booking flights to conferences etc., one wonders what actual service it was offering.

Well this email went around to staff on the 17th July:

Following the decision of Finance Committee (minute FN/05-06/81 refers) to introduce flexibility with regard to College travel it is now possible to book flights directly with airlines. However, members of staff are reminded that DUST and World Travel Centre are the approved College travel agents, and where the services of a travel agent are required, either of these should be engaged.

So obviously this shutting down of DUST has come about quite quickly because just over a week ago they were the "approved College travel agents."

shay_562

I meant they could arrange some kind of special case of a maternity payment and then release her after that expires perhaps. I don't know the ins and outs or whether she'd already been granted maternity leave. If so it would make sense to give her some extra money in this regard as the couple were hardly budgeting for a perhaps large reduction in income when planning to have the child.

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that the other four employees who are taking this case weren't exactly counting on a large reduction in income either, and perhaps already have kids, or have pregnant partners, or infirm relatives, or debt problems, or medical expenses, or any one of a million sob stories. I'm no law student (thank all that is sweet and holy), but judging things based on an emotional reaction to a particular case rather than that "everyone is equal under the eyes of the law" thing seems like a bad idea. Suggesting that it's somehow more unfair to fire a pregnant woman than any of the rest of them doesn't sit well with me, and suggestions that she should be paid extra and given preferential treatment because of it seem grossly unfair. Not because I have anything in particular against pregnant women, you understand, or because I don't accept that she's been put in a horrible position at an extremely vulnerable time in her life; simply because I'm willing to bet the other 4 are just as screwed by this.

That said (and this is the topic-y part), if the service can't perform (which is seperate to it not performing - I don't know enough about the money involved to even hazard a guess as to which is the case here) then it's doing students more harm than good. Saving a few people a few euro here and there while being propped up by everyone's annual fees seems a poor trade-off.

Bartron Prime

Unlikely, as far as I'm aware, no third level institution is permitted by the Higher Education Authority to take out financial borrowings. Essentially, they have to make ends meet. Also, I'm probably wrong, but isn't Trinity one of the few colleges not to declare a position of financial distress? If only we had Chapter 11 protection.. but hey, at least we're Yukos Oil. Sucks to be them!

Nothingcompares

I was told by a source wishing to stay anonymous that the pregnant woman was lazy and often took pens home from the office without returning them.

John2 WTC is probably where most people book.

Crash

well college ran up a huge tab with DUST and didnt enjoy,er, paying.

Tricity Bendix

Nothingcompares wrote:

I was told by a source wishing to stay anonymous that the pregnant woman was lazy and often took pens home from the office without returning them.

Please tell me that you're taking the piss. Please?

I think I'd have to explode with mirth if that's true.

Bartron Prime

College doesn't like paying for/doing anything. They'd probably like to get rid of us students. If it wasn't for us you see, there would be less expense and paperwork generated by admin istration. Then, TCD would be an efficient and financially stable university. Problem solved!

Nothingcompares

College loves us but is very bad at expressing its' love. It's like a manifestation of a 1960s Man.

Bartron Prime

Quality definition. But it fits. Much like a 1960s Man after some serious drugging (look at Hegarty's smiley face and beard) it's extremely slow to do anything and can't quite remember what it just did. Perhaps we should invest in Stem Cell Research and give it to the Board?

Andrew 83

I think the SU have been examining the situation for a long time, I rememeber discussions about its vaibility years ago and I heard of discussions about it in the last few months so I highly doubt it's a sudden decision.


I don't particularly want to keep discussing the situation with the employee as I know nothing about her or the situation in detail but I would have thought it would be compassionate to help her seeing as she is different from the other employees - she can hardly go out and get another job now to replace the income immediately while the others probably have no physical reason why they can't.

Nietzschean

Andrew 83 wrote:

(I'm also a postgrad these days Michael )

you've started already? i would have figured not till october?

As for the rest of it, Daithi's right none of us know the in's and out of why the case is happening, so lets just stay off that topic as its pure speculation, stick to DUST and its closeure.

Hitchhiker's Guide to...

Andrew 83 wrote:

(I'm also a postgrad these days Michael )

okay - sorry! just let me wait my remaining two months, then i'll make that statement about "postgrads these days" !!