VAWO action opening academic year

Parking campaign by VAWO and PNN at the opening of the academic year, September 3, 2018, Tilburg University.

Temporary contracts and temporary appointments are commonplace in academia. The most recent figures from the Association of Universities in the Netherlands (VSNU) show that a staggering 40% of academic staff work on temporary contracts (and that's not even counting PhD candidates). Every few years, these academics are forced to perform their research at a new location.

"People in academia are temporarily sidelined, work incredibly hard, and are then let go at the end of their contracts. This is obviously bad for the employee, but also for the long-term research programs and university education. The quality of these core activities is increasingly under pressure due to the constant staff turnover," says Marijtje Jongsma of VAWO, the trade union for the academic sector. Kevin de Bruijn of the Tilburg student faction SAM, who supports the action, agrees: "We have been campaigning for higher educational quality for years. The numerous staff turnovers and high workloads are harming the quality of education, and therefore also the quality of students."

The many temporary appointments also make universities less attractive as employers, according to Anne de Vries, chair of the PhD Network Netherlands (PNN): “Academia offers few prospects for PhD candidates and other young researchers. The small group who find a job in academia will usually have to settle for a temporary position. For many young scientists, this academic nomad existence is unappealing. By not investing sustainably in employees, you lose talented researchers and teachers to sectors that do offer career prospects.”

The core of this problem lies in the ever-increasing underfunding of academic education. Over the past 10 years, the percentage of students has increased by over 30%. The number of academics at universities has increased much less. Until now, the minister has shifted this pressing problem of temporary appointments and alarmingly high workloads to the employees. They were left to resolve it through collective bargaining agreements. But the situation is reaching its limit. With the current underfunding, it's high time the government took responsibility, says Jongsma. "If we want to offer high-quality academic education in the Netherlands, we will have to invest in attracting and retaining passionate academics. This is only possible if funding per student increases, instead of continually decreasing."

That's why VAWO and PNN are taking joint action at Tilburg University on Monday, September 3rd, from 2:00 PM to protest the high percentage of employees temporarily 'parked' at Dutch universities.