Trade unions are increasing pressure on collective bargaining for universities
Because the collective labor agreement negotiations in academic education are not going smoothly, the AOb together with the other unions on Tuesday again action. The unions want more permanent contracts, higher wages and lower work pressure.
On Tuesday, April 25, the unions will hold AOb, FNV, CNV and FBZ along with some action groups*Casual Academy, WOinActie and Zero Point Seven an action at the Free University of Amsterdam. The unions are in the middle of negotiations for a new collective labor agreement in academic education and they are not yet going according to plan, according to the unions. The next meeting with the employers will be on 8 May.
Pay raise
Because of the high inflation, the unions want a substantial wage increase in addition to permanent jobs. The employers understand that, but do not know whether it is possible. Start this month sent she wrote to the cabinet to get more money. But according to the unions, more is possible than the employers say. The unions especially want higher wages for workers in the lower pay scales.
Permanent contracts also remain a hot topic. Postdocs and regular lecturers in particular often have flexible contracts. But it can vary considerably per university: at Erasmus University even 60 percent of assistant professors have a temporary contract, compared to only 16 percent at TU Delft.
The trade unions want everyone to receive a permanent contract after a year if they function well and with structural work. So that lecturers and researchers can continue to do their work and the quality of education is maintained. In the parliamentary debate on science policy on 18 April, Minister Robbert Dijkgraaf also argued for more permanent jobs. “The increase in all those temporary contracts has led to a breakdown of academic freedom.”
Research shows that because of their temporary employment, lecturers and researchers do indeed receive an extra vulnerable position to take. Think of work pressure, unpaid overtime and social safety. “The fact that the minister also recognizes the importance of permanent contracts is of course good news,” says AObdriver Donald Pechler. “We hope that he will now clarify what this means for teachers and researchers in practice and not just leave it to the sector.”
Workload
In addition to a wage increase and permanent contracts, the trade unions consider work pressure to be a major theme. FNV has one sample done among several hundred employees and it appears that previous collective agreements about 'real job requirements' have not or hardly been complied with.
Do employees have enough time to perform all their tasks? Around 80 percent of lecturers and researchers say no. More than half of the support staff is also short of time. Contrary to the agreements, no policy has yet been made for this.
The research is not out of the blue at this time. Universities must adhere to the collective labor agreement, says FNV director Jan Boersma. “But the workload is still very high and little has been done about it so far. That is why we now want to make tougher agreements.”
The question is whether the new collective labor agreement will be concluded soon, especially because the 'wage room' is not yet known. The government will announce in the spring memorandum (no later than 1 June) how much extra funding the educational institutions will receive for the increased prices.
The action starts at 12:00 at the VU in Amsterdam. Come too! Click here for more information and registration.
Also read: Unions demand more permanent jobs at universities, riding a over the major impact of temporary contracts on private life en the negative consequences for associate professor Susanne Täuber because of her commitment to academic freedom
