TU Delft students and staff members will drop their work on Thursday 24 April to protest against the proposed cutbacks to higher education. The protest is part of a nationwide relay of strikes in which different universities protest on consecutive days. TU Delft closes the series.
(Illustration: FNV, AOb and VSSD)
The day will start at 08:30 at Pulse on campus where the strikers can make banners. The walk-out starts at about 11:30. This is the point at which students and staff members of all the faculties stop working and studying and leave. They gather on the square in front of Pulse and the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering. From 12:30 there will be a stage and a programme with speakers.
Among the speakers are one student, two professors, one alumnus, and a representative of the strike committee. An Executive Board member and Marja van Bijsterveldt, the Mayor of Delft, may also speak.
The programme on stage will be closed with a poetry reading and live music. Lunch will be available with free chips and drinks.
The protest march will leave at 13:15 and head to the square at Delft Central Station. Activities such as teach-ins, a science market and brief lectures will be held there from 15:00. There will also be a bouncy castle for children.
May I strike?
For staff members, joining the strike falls under the legal right to strike. They do not have to request leave and the Executive Board has said that no salaries will be withheld. Staff members are required to inform their supervisors in advance if they join the strike.
Exceptions are for staff members with crucial jobs, such as keeping important research installations going. They are advised to discuss options for a suitable alternative.
Do I have to attend lectures?
Teaching activities may be dropped on 24 April if the teachers join the strike. In these cases, students are informed accordingly on Brightspace. Cancelled sessions will not be held later, instead students will receive instructions on going through the material themselves. Tests, compulsory practice, presentations and doctoral dissertation defences will go ahead as planned.
Students are not required to be present on the strike day unless it regards compulsory education. Information about this will be shared on Brightspace for each subject.
EUR 79 million
The cutbacks which have led to the protests amount to more than EUR 500 million nationwide. For TU Delft, this means an expected drop of EUR 79 million. The VSSD and FNV trade unions are worried that these cutbacks will lead to a drop in the quality of education, less supervision, and higher workloads.
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m.vanderveldt@tudelft.nl
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