The UT writes on the service portal that it is a protest action. Elsewhere I read about a strike. So, what is it really?
The short answer: a strike. UT employees will participate in a so-called relay strike next Tuesday. It started on March 10 in Leiden, then a strike took place in Utrecht, Nijmegen, Amsterdam and Groningen. It is Enschede's turn on March 25.
The long answer: the unions speak emphatically of a strike. The UT supports the action and also has guidelines in place. But it does speak of a 'protest action'. This is partly a semantic difference, but also one where the devil is in the details: because such an initiative should not affect individuals 'disproportionately' and 'critical processes' such as exams continue, you can conclude that the Executive Board does not formally consider this a strike. A strike would cause total disruption, with which everything would come to a standstill.
Am I allowed to strike?
Yes, as an employee you are allowed to strike. This is a fundamental right and is also enshrined in the European Social Charter. So you don't have to take a day off and you won't be fired because you're going on strike. For students, you are not employed by the university, so in principle you cannot strike at all. But there is no attendance obligation on 25 March, with a few exceptions (patient care and compulsory practicals).
The UT is keeping some caveats. Tests and exams (those 'critical processes') will continue as usual. And employees must discuss their participation in the strike with their manager, in the event that someone's presence at the UT is necessary. So the support is not entirely unconditionally, but the UT will continue to pay the employees on the strike day. That was different at the University of Applied Sciences Utrecht; Employees who went on strike for more than two hours were cut back on their wages.
What is going to happen on March 25?
There are some peripheral activities at first, but the 'main programme' starts at 11.30 on the O&O square. At 1 p.m., the crowd marches from the campus to the center of Enschede, where a 'science fair' and 'mini-lectures' will take place, among other activities. Closing is at the town hall at 5 pm. That is the plenary program of action group 'Twente for Protest', the main driver of the strike. But people are free to do something else. It is still unclear how many participants there will be.
How did the strike go in other cities?
Initiators had little to complain about the turnout. In Groningen there were about 2500 attendees, in Leiden there were several hundred more. They could also count on ‘several thousand’ demonstrators in Amsterdam and Utrecht. The recipes were often tried and tested and will therefore also be seen in Enschede: a march and a meeting on a central square in the city center.
Why is there a strike?
Cuts. These were already announced in the outline agreement of the new Schoof cabinet. For example, the introduction of the controversial long-term studying fine was also on the table and the intended cuts in education and research amounted to roughly 2 billion euros. Partly after pressure from protests in November and in politics in The Hague itself, some of the cuts – including the long-term studying fine – were reversed. But there is still about 1.3 billion euros in cuts remaining; cuts that the unions and action groups want off the table, but that Minister Eppo Bruins does not want to reverse. That is why there is a strike.
What is at stake?
Coincidentally, the strike day of the UT employees coincides with the discussion of the budget of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science in the Senate. A while later, the Spring Memorandum is on the table. Whether the strike wave can exert enough political pressure to reverse all education cutbacks is very much the question. After a deal with the government parties, there is in principle a majority in the Senate to uphold the cuts.
