Tertiary education to strike

Teachers, researchers and other employees will strike to protest the cabinet’s austerity measures. The strike will take the form of a relay.

‘How and when the strikes take place will differ per institute’, says the FNV union. The idea of a relay strike is that the institutes will take turns striking. The AOb has also decided to go on strike. Its members are undoubtedly willing, a spokesperson states. ‘Budget cuts for 1.1 billion are still planned, and that is certainly not nothing.’

How will WUR strike?

The plans are still new, and the way the relay will take form is still uncertain. The FNV expects to call a national day of protest when the House of Representatives discusses the spring budget. The AOb is still considering what to do. Action committees will meet at all universities in the near future.

WUR is closely affiliated with the FNV and #WOinActie en FNV. This Monday, during the FNV Q&A hour on the austerity plans in Impulse’s speaker’s corner, the unions want to determine the  WUR community’s position on the strikes. Following that, the unions will plan WUR’s contribution to the strikes.

‘Tense year’

The Spring budget could prove a difficult hurdle for the coalition parties. PVV leader Geert Wilders has already called this a tense year and set boundaries. He refuses to free up funds for the climate or Ukraine.

The cabinet always faces financial windfalls and setbacks in the course of the year, which means the four governing parties (and possible supporting partners in the Senate) must reach an agreement on amendments to the budget.

The governing parties have already made a deal with the ChristenUnie, SGP, CDA, and JA21 for the Education, Culture and Science budget at the expense of, among others, the Ministry of Public Health. The chances that changes will be made to that agreement are slim. However, significant windfalls or setbacks may cause things to shift.

Source: HOP/Dominique Vrouwenvelder