TU Delft will give staff time off for higher education protest action

TU Delft employees wanting to participate in the protest organised by, among others, WOinAction on 14 November will not have to apply for leave. TU Delft announced this in a message on the intranet. However, it is the intention that employees coordinate their absence with their supervisor. Lecturers cancelling their teaching that day because of the protest must inform their students at least one week in advance.

The protest on 14 November will focus on the Cabinet plans to cut about 1 billion euros in total from higher education. “The scale of the damage to Dutch science and higher education is becoming increasingly clear, and it will be unprecedented,” said WOinAction, which is organising the protest together with unions and other action groups “Students and early-career researchers will be especially affected, with consequences that will ripple through society.”

The action will take place between 01:00 PM and 03:00 PM at a yet unknown location in Utrecht. With the directive on the intranet, TU Delft wants to ‘give the opportunity to participate as much as possible’. Nevertheless, students will not be exempt from compulsory education, compulsory practicals or exams, unless the lecturer is absent due to the action.