WOinActie is calling on all Dutch university administrations to close their doors on Monday, November 25, so that staff and students can attend the education protest at the Malieveld in The Hague.
‘It’s difficult for staff to make room in their schedules again after last week’s cancelled protest’, WOinActie writes in its appeal. ‘Being dutiful as they are, many are hesitant to cancel lectures or reschedule other commitments once more. A collective decision is needed for this.’
Exemptions provided
The Groningen action group Organize the RUG, which organised last Thursday’s protest at Grote Markt, supports the appeal. However, the UG has stated that it is not prepared to go that far at this time.
The university’s board of directors encourages everyone to protest in The Hague on Monday. Employees and students will be excused from work and study obligations, provided this is coordinated with supervisors and lecturers. Any missed work can be made up later.
The board is also making efforts to attend the protest at Malieveld. ‘There is a lot happening behind the scenes to make this possible’, a university spokesperson noted. The Young Academy Groningen (YAG) is also calling on staff and students to attend the nationwide protest.
Largest protest in years
The demonstration on Thursday, November 14, was expected to be the largest nationwide education protest in years. Thousands of employees and students from across the country were set to gather in Utrecht to protest the government’s sweeping budget cuts for higher education under the Schoof cabinet.
However, the unions cancelled the protest the evening before, following advice from Utrecht’s mayor and police. Authorities cited ‘concrete information’ that a pro-Palestinian group intended to ‘hijack’ the demonstration and potentially resort to violence.
Anger and disappointment
The unions described the cancellation as a ‘de facto ban’ on the protest. FNV expressed anger and disappointment, stating that the action they had ‘worked so hard to organise’ could not take place. Nonetheless, some student organisations ignored the threat and went to Utrecht on Thursday anyway.
It remains unclear whether Organize the RUG, which had planned to send 180 people in three buses to Utrecht on Thursday, will arrange buses for Monday. However, people who are interested can register in advance. As before, union members can have their train tickets to The Hague reimbursed by the union.
Editor’s note: this article was rewritten after publication to include WOinActie’s call on universities.