UU professors: 'Strike with us'

Dear colleagues, 

At Utrecht University, we are on strike on 11th March. It’s a strike against the politics of the education budget cuts. Not directed against our employer, the university. We are on strike in protest against a government that is pushing through budget cuts that are unnecessary, unwise, undesirable and not legitimate. On other days in March, other universities will also strike. 

On 11th March, we will lay down our work (if duty permits) and organize alternative actions on campus. We find this difficult because academic work is our passion and it’s of great social importance. We hope everyone is aware that in higher education, strikes are rare. However, circumstances call for action so that the government and opposition realize that the budget cuts will cut very deeply into the system. And that they realize that the consequences for workload, employment, teaching and research quality, and also economic impact will be very large. We are already seeing this negative impact around us because the university is forced to already take an advance on the cuts. 

As professors from several faculties, we think it is important to call on everyone to join in. Regardless of your position, you are within your rights to go on strike. Being involved in the strike will not affect you in your work appraisal. It is a legitimate strike supported by the main unions: Algemene Onderwijsbond (AOb), the Landelijke Studentenvakbond, WOinAction, FNV and CNV. Announcements of actions on that day will follow. 

It sounds paradoxical, but it is precisely by going on strike that we rise for academic research and education. Join us, and also call on your colleagues to join the strike. 

With collegial regards, 

Professors of the Faculties of Science; Veterinary Medicine; Humanities; Geosciences; Law, Economics, Governance; Medicine; Social Sciences. 

Roberta D'Alessandro, Joel Anderson, Payal Arora, Flor Avelino, Joke Baas, Chris Backes, Maaike Bleeker, Antal van den Bosch, Helleke van den Braber, Edward Brans, Kiene Brillenburg Wurth, Rebecca Bryant, Geert Buelens, Antoine Buyse, Jolle Demmers, Belle Derks, José van Dijck, Annelien de Dijn, Giovanna Fossati, Veerle Fraeters, Albert Gatt, Madeleine Gibescu, Rick de Graaff, Ido de Haan, Sanneke de Haan, Ellen Hamaker, Paul ‘t Hart, Harald Hendrix, Rosalie Iemhoff, Chris Jenks, Wouter van Joolingen, Birgit Kaiser, Birgit Meyer, Ewout van der Knaap, Maarten Kleinhans, Anne-Marie Korte, Haidee Kotze, Christian Lange, Tanja van der Lippe, Michiel Luchtman, Franck Meijboom, Albert Meijer, Eggo Müller, Martijn Oosterbaan, Alex Oude Elferink, Wil Pansters, Toine Pieters, Sandra Ponzanesi, Hugo Quené, Ingrid Robeyns, Federica Russo, Leonard Rutgers, Wilfried van Sark, Rashmi Sasidharan, Rens van de Schoot, Wendy Schrama, Asghar Seyed-Gohrab, Appy Sluijs, Els Stronks, Kathrin Thiele, Felisa Tibbitts, Seline Trevisanut, Iris van der Tuin, Nanna Verhoeff, Marcel Verweij, Bald de Vries, Detlef van Vuuren, Emile Wennekes, Rob Widdershoven, Mariette Wolthers, Frank Wijnen, Yoad Winter

(24 February)