Wageningen solidarity during the strike on Monday to protest against the higher education cuts. Photo Resource The cuts will cost jobs at WUR too, as became clear two weeks ago. It was the first time redundancies were mentioned in connection with the planned cutbacks. President of the Executive Board Sjoukje Heimovaara talks of a ‘multifaceted challenge’.
‘We’re preparing for a situation in which our income as of 1 January 2028 is ten per cent less than now,’ says Heimovaara. ‘That is how we arrive at a figure of 80 million euros in cutbacks.’ This is due in part to an expected drop of 45 million euros in research contracts and education funding for specific groups. The Board is also planning cuts of 35 million euros to keep the organization financially sound. ‘So that we make sure not all of the 80 million in cuts is borne by research and education, leaving us in a vicious circle.’
WUR is facing a multi-faceted challenge, says Heimovaara. The budget cuts proposed by the Ministry of Education, totalling one billion euros, were accepted by the Upper House of Parliament last week. Tilburg University and Radboud University are considering lawsuits. Heimovaara: ‘Each university is making its own decision on legal steps. We too are angry that the administrative agreement has now been cancelled unilaterally and we are filing an objection, but we aren’t going to court. Even if the lawsuits are successful, the ministry will have to balance its budget somehow and that will affect us.’
There are also other external challenges. The Ministry of Education has already cut back on funding for the Dutch Research Council. Plus the facts that student numbers are falling nationwide and ever fewer Dutch students are choosing degrees in science.
Plans
Revenue from the Ministry of Agriculture is also under pressure. Much of the funding for Wageningen Research (WR) comes from The Hague. Heimovaara: ‘So WUR is facing an uncertain future too. Costs are rising due to inflation and wage increases in the collective labour agreement. The question is whether the rising costs can be covered. Those could easily come to ten per cent — but as said, we aren’t expecting any extra revenue.’
We aren’t going to court
WUR is currently working on the cuts through what it terms parallel processes. ‘One process is to look at where we need to make choices due to the impact of external decisions — less money from the Ministry of Education, for example, or fewer contracts from the private sector. At the same time, we are looking at internal processes and habits that we can influence directly.’ With that in mind, building opening hours became shorter after the cuts were announced and a critical review was conducted of temporary job contracts and natural turnover due to retirement. Heimovaara: ‘We knew beforehand this wouldn’t be enough to make the cuts we needed. That is why we have now asked the central staff departments (including Facilities & Services, CS+ and ESA, ed.) to submit detailed plans for making savings.’
To make a long story short, the task for internal services is to become more efficient, using fewer resources. Heimovaara: ‘Our funding arrives in the places where we do research and teaching; those are our core activities. If the income falls there, it means there will be fewer people and groups to pay the costs of the support services such as Facilities & Services and CS+.’ The staff departments’ savings plans will let WUR shield the research and education side for as long as possible, says the Board President.
The department directors have been briefed, for example using the savings ideas offered by employees in the Finding Answers Together meetings. They came up with ideas along seven ‘routes’, for example Reducing overheads or Making research more efficient and effective. ‘As the Board, we have made a selection and we’ve issued our own assignment.’ Heimovaara is unable to say what that assignment is. The deadline for the directors is in May, when the Executive Board will formulate a proposed decision.
Fear
How many FTEs will have to go is not yet clear, says Heimovaara. The Human Resources department also replies, when asked, that it is too early to say anything, for example about temporary contracts not being renewed. One thing is clear though: the cutbacks will have far-reaching effects. The Board President says this is only the start. ‘I fear everyone will be affected one way or another. Some people will have to say goodbye to their job here. I have said before how special it is for me to be able to work at Wageningen, and that applies to a lot of people. Some of them might be told there is no future for them here. That’s awful. We are fully aware of what this means for people. But we are taking our time to come up with well-considered plans.’ The staff departments say they cannot make any concrete statements at present. They will do so at a later date, informing employees first.
Regulations
What does it actually mean when WUR says it isn’t ruling out a ‘reduction in jobs’? What is possible and what isn’t? HR Director Martijn Scheen says WUR is sticking to the regulations in the NU and WR collective labour agreements. Both these agreements have sections on reorganizations that set out the rights and obligations of WUR and its employees during a reorganization. There are also rules on redundancy packages and other measures for the people affected by a reorganization, including reorganizations in order to cut costs for financial reasons. ‘We will be doing all we can to foster job mobility and guide people to work elsewhere. If that isn’t possible within the mandatory periods specified in the collective labour agreements, there will be dismissals.’
In determining who is surplus to requirements, WUR has to keep to the statutory rules on redundancy. That means the proportionality principle is used to decide who qualifies for redundancy. This principle ensures a fair age profile. Incidentally, when big changes are made to research and education, the Board is required to submit the proposed decisions to the WUR Council first. The WUR Council tells Resource that it is unable to comment on the Executive Board’s plans at this early stage. Chair Blair van Pelt: ‘But we will fulfil our role as a consultative body and engage in a dialogue with the Board.’
