A few dozen UT employees came together in the DesignLab to decide whether or not the UT will participate in the relay strike against the billion-dollar cuts in higher education. An overwhelming majority of those present voted in favour of that strike.
Leiden University will be the first to do so, on 10 March. The universities of Utrecht, Nijmegen, Amsterdam and Groningen will follow. The UT staff chose 25 March as the appropriate date.
'Positive attitude of the Executive Board'
The Executive Board has a 'positive attitude' towards the initiative, says spokesperson Laurens van der Velde. 'The initiators are still discussing with the Executive Board how the UT can support the initiative. But critical processes such as exams must be able to continue.'
Mobilizing supporters
So the attendees started thinking about the right form together on Thursday afternoon. From a march from the campus to the city centre to teaching the locals on the Van Heekplein, numerous options were discussed. In any case, those involved insisted on conveying a positive message and emphasizing the added value of universities for society.
The parties involved have yet to agree on the exact form of the strike. After all, in a formal sense, striking means laying your work down. With that in mind, the unions and action groups still have less than a month to set something up.
And moreover, to get colleagues to go on strike. Because if something became clear among the thirty or so attendees in the DesignLab, it is the need to mobilize more supporters.
How many there will eventually be remains to be seen. In any case, the date has been set: on 25 March, UT employees will hold a strike day.
