WOinActie: Uni staff are at their wit’s end
WOinActie: Uni staff are at their wit’s end
Door Rob Siebelink
By Rob Siebelink
WOinActie demands extra funds from the minister to increase the number of academic and support positions by 20 percent. ‘It’s an emergency.’
The letter has been co-signed by the General Union of Educational Personnel, union FNV, and eight universities’ representative bodies, including the UG’s university council. The letter writers say the corona pandemic has led to a ‘dire situation’ at the Dutch universities.
Exhausted
Hybrid and online education, which started in March 2020, has increased the already high work stress, says WOinActie. ‘We’re seeing strong signals that academics and support staff are completely exhausted. Some of them are calling in sick.’
In order to spare their colleagues the extra work, many people continue working even when they’re ill. Students who are also suffering from corona-related issues have turned to the university for help more often, increasing work stress.
The 20 million euros the minister already made available to create extra positions in higher education isn’t sufficient, says WOinActie. ‘Enable us to continue to provide quality education to our students so we’ll have enough well-trained experts in the future to face our current societal problems.’