Lawsuit 'disposable teacher' affects all teachers
Yesterday it was full in the courtroom where former teacher Marijn Scholte sued Utrecht University. Several dozen teachers came to support Scholte in his fight against temporary contracts. AObsector director Donald Pechler: “It is great that Scholte is starting a lawsuit. Many people do not dare to do this from a social safety point of view.”
Picture: Type tank
For four years, Marijn Scholte worked as a lecturer at the Faculty of Social Sciences at Utrecht University. His contract expired in March, but there was no permanent appointment, because according to the institution you also have to do research work for that.
Scholte then applied for another temporary position at the university. To his surprise, his letter was set aside because, according to the university, it would be a sign of bad employership if he were to get a temporary contract again. It made Scholte decide to go to court for a permanent contract.
touches everyone
“There is a broad social discussion going on behind this case”, his lawyer Twan Kersten observes in the courtroom, which is well filled with about fifty audience members. One of the teachers who came to court to show support for Scholte is Luzia Heu. As a university lecturer, she has obtained a permanent contract in Utrecht. But according to her, everyone suffers from the many temporary contracts. “New people have to be trained again and again. That puts a higher burden on all teachers,” she believes.
New people have to be trained all the time. This increases the workload for all teachers
Teacher Jasper Steggink is also closely following the case. He says he is in the same boat as Scholte. He has had three contracts in three years and also had to leave Utrecht University. “I knew when I started that I was getting a temporary contract and saw it mainly as a great opportunity. I now see which system is behind it and I notice that this is a dead end for me,” he says. Steggink hopes the lawsuit will bring about “structural change”.
Unwanted system
In his plea, lawyer Kersten argues that the university is guilty of being a bad employer. “A teacher is always happy that he has a job. This is how an unwanted system is maintained.” According to him, Scholte's temporary contract does not do justice to the structural work he did. “In fact, it is clear: there is a permanent need for teachers,” he says.
An unwanted system is being maintained
Before the lawsuit, the lawyer asked the union for its position on the collective labor agreement and the deployment of teachers with temporary contracts. Pechler: “If there is structural work, then employees should be given a permanent contract. When there are no fluctuations in student numbers, there is structural work.”
According to the AObsector manager, universities themselves create a permanent demand for temporary staff. “They remove teaching duties from university lecturers and then hire temporary lecturers for teaching purposes only. Those teachers are apparently good enough to provide that academic education for four years. The university therefore contradicts itself if a permanent appointment is only possible for assistant professors at UU, because they have to combine education and research," says Pechler. It is great that Scholte is starting a lawsuit, he thinks. "This is not easy, many do not dare, they are in a dependent position and are therefore in a difficult position to address injustice.”
Sophie Wierenga-Heintz, the lawyer of the university, denies that there is bad employership. According to her, no “false expectations” have been created. Moreover, she believes that a layer of temporary lecturers is part of business operations, because the university must be able to respond to fluctuating student numbers. The institution also needs temporary replacements for permanent teaching staff who participate in research projects.
Fill holes
The university is “not afraid” of permanent contracts, argues the lawyer, but wants to ensure that education is mainly provided by university lecturers (who combine teaching and research). According to the lawyer, other teachers are only used to fill the gaps within that permanent capacity. The university plans to expand the number of UDs, she emphasizes, which will increase the number of permanent contracts.
Regrettably
Utrecht University issued a statement yesterday that it is "unfortunate" that a former employee has gone to court. She wants to “treat temporary colleagues well”, but will “unfortunately certainly not be able to offer them all permanent contracts”.
The judge summarizes the dispute succinctly: “Is this a question of structural work? One says 'yes', the other says 'no'. The law is that simple sometimes.” The verdict will follow on August 3.
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