Education minister wants talks with unions after all

The unions have at last received a response to the ultimatum they issued to the government. Education minister Eppo Bruins now says he is willing to hold talks. But his concession comes with a warning: there is no prospect of reversing his planned cutbacks.

The unions’ ultimatum expired on Saturday. They wanted all government cuts to higher education and research to be scrapped or strike action could be imminent. The unions said on Thursday they held out little hope of a response from the minister, given that they had not received one for months.

But on Friday, the minister broke his silence. In a letter to the unions, he again reiterated his obligation to abide by the coalition’s agreed financial frameworks. “I cannot therefore accede to your demand to withdraw the cuts in higher education.”

Workload

That said, the minister wants to implement the cuts ‘as reasonably as possible’ and is therefore prepared to discuss them with the unions. This dialogue is expected to include staff workload, which for the unions is an issue of major concern.

Bruins has earmarked 78 million euros from the remaining budget for the universities to reduce staff workload. This sum has been freed up by cuts to the Fund for Research and Science.

Now that their demands have not been met, unions CNV, FNV and AOb are discussing possible follow-up action. As they stated last week, their ultimatum partly served a legal purpose: its expiry gives them grounds for declaring a ‘political strike’ with the aim of challenging government policy.