As part of the relay strike against the austerity measures
Utrecht University to go on strike on March 11
The higher education sector held a big protest in The Hague in November 2024. Photo: DUB
A group of UU employees met on Wednesday, February 5, to discuss how UU will participate in the nationwide protests against the austerity measures. The relay strike is a follow-up to the big demonstration held in The Hague on November 25. Although some of the austerity measures have been reversed following a deal between the cabinet and four opposition parties, 1.3 billion euros will still be cut from the budget, with higher education taking the biggest blow. The sector has announced that more protests will follow if the remaining austerity measures are not reversed as well.
The first type of protest announced is a relay strike, which means that universities will take turns leaving their jobs. Radboud University, in Nijmegen, is the first university to go on strike on March 13.
Trade unions and the protest group WOinActie, which protests excessive workloads as a result of underfunding in higher education, will go on strike two days earlier, on March 11. Ingrid Robeyns, from WOin Actie, announced on LinkedIn that a protest committee is being put together, coordinated by trade union FNV.