Lecturers, researchers, and other staff in higher education are planning to go on strike to protest the Government’s budget cuts. It will be a ‘relay strike’. The idea of the relay is for a different university or university of applied sciences to strike each time. The FNV union informed its members that ‘How each institution will strike and their timing will vary according to institution’.
The General Union of Education (AOb) has also decided to take action. Members are ready to protest, a spokesperson said. “After all, there is still EUR 1.1 billion in cuts on the table, and that’s no small matter.”
The strike plans are in the early stages, and it remains to be seen where the relay will lead. The FNV is considering a nationwide day of action coinciding with the parliamentary debate on the Spring Budget Memorandum. The AOb is still undecided.
A tense year ahead
The Spring Budget Memorandum could prove tricky for the four coalition parties in the Government. PVV (Party for Freedom) leader Geert Wilders has already described this year as a tense year and taken a stand: he is opposed to allocating extra funds for the climate or Ukraine.
Throughout the year, the Government typically deals with financial windfalls and setbacks. The four governing parties (and potential support partners in the Senate) will need to agree on adjustments to the national budget. For the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science’s (OCW) budget, the coalition parties have already reached a deal with the Christian Union, SGP (Dutch Reformed Political Party), CDA (Christian Democrat Party), and JA21, partly at the expense of the Ministry of Health. It seems unlikely that much will change in this agreement.
HOP, Bas Belleman
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