Higher education staff announce relay strike

Lecturers, researchers and other staff in higher education will be going on strike against government budget cuts. This is to be a so-called ‘relay’ strike.

In other words, various institutes of higher education will go on strike by turns. “What form these strikes will take and when they will take place depends on the institute in question”, says trade union FNV in a message to its members.

The General Union of Education (AOb) will be joining in as well. A representative says members are eager to take action. “There are still plans for 1.1 billion euros in cuts, which is not a negligible amount.”

These are early days, and what the relay will involve in practice remains to be seen. FNV is considering a nationwide day of protests focused on the government’s Spring Memorandum. AOb isn’t sure yet.

'Interesting year'

The Spring Memorandum may well prove tricky for the four coalition parties. PVV leader Geert Wilders is already calling this an interesting year and has been drawing some hard lines; he is against dedicating any more money to climate change or Ukraine.

As a year progresses, it is normal for the government to encounter various financial windfalls and setbacks. The four coalition parties, plus any supporting parties in the Senate, must then agree on adjustments to the State Budget.

Regarding education, science and culture, the coalition parties have already negotiated a deal with ChristenUnie, SGP, CDA and JA21 which takes away from other budgets such as the one for the Ministry of Public Health. Any significant changes to these arrangements appear very unlikely. Who knows, though. A sufficiently big windfall or setback could still change everything.