The national demonstration was cancelled last week, and an alternative protest took place on the campus. Photo Guy Ackermans. A petition is circulating leading up to the large demonstration on Monday against budget cuts in tertiary education and research. On Wednesday afternoon, the petition has already been signed by 56,800 individuals.
The protest against the austerity measures in Utrecht last week was cancelled at the last minute. Despite the cancellation, students took to the streets, and the speakers were welcomed into the House of Representatives.
A new date has been set: The afternoon of Monday, 25 November, on the Malieveld in The Hague. All organisers are calling on their members and other sympathisers to come through social media channels and WhatsApp groups.
Representatives of unions, protest groups and institutes will speak at the demonstration, and artist Benjamin Flo will perform. The final programme is to be announced.
Budget
The protest is just in time for the House of Representative’s debate on the budget for Education, Culture and Science that week. Issues to be discussed include plans for the long-term study fine (or an alternative) and hundreds of millions in cutbacks on the budgets of, mainly universities.
There are some concerns about whether moving the protest will impact the turnout. Perhaps people will be more motivated to attend out of indignation at the ‘prohibition’ of the protest in Utrecht. On the other hand, teachers, students and researchers must clear a day in their calendars for the second time. Will they?
Protest movement WOinActie understands the issue. ‘Conciencious as they are, many have issues with cancelling yet another day of lectures or other obligations’, their message states. ‘We call on university administrations to contribute by closing universities for all regular duties so that the employees are able to protest.’
The doors may remain open, but university administrations encourage their staff to attend the protest. Twente University, for example, does not require protesting staff to take a day off, and students are excused from mandatory attendance. Employees in Wageningen also need not take time off to protest, and AOb and FNV union members receive free train tickets after registering.
Petition
The demonstration is not the last of it. One day later, on Tuesday, the unions, student organisations and protest groups will jointly present their petition to a delegation from the House of Representatives. The petition cautions that the budget cuts will exacerbate the existing financial shortages, ‘resulting in more overtime, poor working conditions, limited education, work disabilities and staff leaving.’
Tension within the coalition is rising, but not (yet) in relation to budget cuts in tertiary education. Students and educational institutes are critical, as is the private sector. To date, the coalition has failed to address this criticism so far. They persist in stating that painful choices are sometimes needed.
The PVV party is delighted with the budget cuts. In the Senate, senator Gom van Strien yesterday denounced the management layers at universities, which he claims waste money. He is, incidentally, entangled in a legal battle over dubious transactions during his time as chair of a subsidiary of Utrecht University.
