National student strike on 3 June

Students will go on strike on 3 June, say the Dutch Student Union (LSVb) and FNV Young & United. They demand more study funding and full compensation for students who lost their basic grant.

Under the motto #nietmijnschuld, the LSVb and FNV Young (a trade union for young people) have been campaigning against the loan system for months. They organised protest meetings in six student cities. The now announced ‘operation formation’ focuses on the political parties that will negotiate a new coalition agreement.

Zoom

Last Saturday, the unions held a Zoom meeting in which 300 students participated. They want the basic grant to be returned and for the ‘unlucky students’ who did not receive a basic grant anymore since 2015 to be fully compensated.

The first students in the new loan system did not receive a basic grant, but after graduation they will receive a study voucher of two thousand euro for extra training. The campaigners consider this voucher ‘completely insufficient’. The ten thousand euros per student that GroenLinks proposes in its election programme ‘comes closer’, said FNV Young president Bas van Weegberg.

No classes

The unions call on all students to sign an online petition and to join a national strike on 3 June. They will not study that day and will not participate in their (online) lectures.

According to LSVb president Lyle Muns it is now or never: “This is our chance to abolish the loan system and come up with a good alternative. The money is now being distributed.”