{"id":139579,"date":"2022-05-03T12:23:58","date_gmt":"2022-05-03T10:23:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=139579"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:26:16","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:26:16","slug":"student-union-opens-hotline-for-rotterdam-students-struggling-with-energy-bills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2022\/05\/03\/student-union-opens-hotline-for-rotterdam-students-struggling-with-energy-bills\/","title":{"rendered":"Student Union opens hotline for Rotterdam students struggling with energy bills"},"content":{"rendered":"

Energy bills have doubled for some students and they aren\u2019t part of the compensation plan. As a response, Rotterdam\u2019s student union STUUR aims to bring forward students\u2019 testimonies to the municipality of Rotterdam in hopes of financially compensating those affected by the increase.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe problem is bigger than I thought\u201d, Nathaniel Germain, chair of STUUR, confesses. Energy costs have doubled since the start of this year, prompting the government to launch a compensation package to cushion the impact of this rise. However, students aren\u2019t part of the compensation plan.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe students that reached out to us have said that they\u00a0had to pay hundreds of euros extra, others haven\u2019t been able to afford to buy groceries anymore, so they\u00a0have had to diet basically. It\u2019s quite a serious issue.\u201d Nathaniel explains that not having enough money has been the common theme in the twenty responses to the hotline thus far.<\/p>\n

Exerting pressure<\/h2>

Once sufficient data is collected, the student union will present their findings to the municipality of Rotterdam. \u201cRight now, the municipality isn\u2019t convinced yet that there are enough students that have this issue. So, we hope they\u2019ll do something with this information and compensate the students.\u201d<\/p>\n

STUUR Rotterdam is not alone in this cause. The Dutch Student Union LSVb has also opened a hotline<\/a> to put greater pressure on the government and ensure the financial wellbeing of students affected by the high energy costs.<\/p>\n

However, given that the government has yielded the decision-making power to the municipalities on this matter, Nathaniel encourages all students from Rotterdam who have been affected by the sudden increase to fill in STUUR Rotterdam\u2019s hotline<\/a>. \u201cIf you are a student in Rotterdam, Dutch or international, that has spent more money on your electricity bill and you find it more difficult to reach the end of the month, fill in the hotline. The more responses we have, the more we can force the municipality to do something.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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