UM Executive Board does not respond to action group’s ultimatum

UM Executive Board does not respond to action group’s ultimatum

Action group sends threathning letter to UM board

09-12-2021 · News

MAASTRICHT. Stop temporary contracts for structural jobs, do something about all the overtime and create a safe working environment. That and more demands anonymous action group Casual Maastricht. They do so in an open letter to the Executive Board of Maastricht University. If the board does not respond to the requirements before December 20, the group will start "a disruptive trajectory of escalation".

It has been all wrong for years, writes Casual Maastricht. And there have been no solutions for years. Time for tough demands and even a threat. What their “disruptive escalation trajectory” exactly entails, they leave open. Sister groups in various cities in the country – for example, there is also a Casual Leiden – sent a similar letter to their boards. All anonymous, they don't want to reveal themselves out of fear for a negative effect on their careers, they write.

The UM Executive Board invited the Maastricht branch for a discussion, said President and Rector Rianne Letschert during two University Council committee meetings last Wednesday. “We are open to sit down and talk with everyone.” Without anyone having to be afraid of losing their job, she added. However, the action group did not accept the invitation for that reason.

In any case, Letschert told the University Council they were not going to comply with the demands of an anonymous group without dialogue. The Rector and President repeatedly stated that she “wants to draw a clear line. We will not give into ultimatums and threatening language. That is not part of the academic environment I want to participate in.” And: "The UM would be unsafe according to the group, I don't recognize myself in that."

Author: Yuri Meesen

Photo: Markus Spiske via Pexels

Tags: Protest,workpressure

Responses

Observant

Dear Jan,

There is a link to the letter in the first paragraph of the article. However, we've realised it's not very visible, therefore we've also added the link at the end of the article.

Jan

Hi there,

In this report it states there is an open letter - where is this letter? Would it not make sense to include this in the report since this article can be reads as quite biased and in favour of the CvB - painting Casual Maastricht as a threating group - should the reader of the observant not get a chance for themselves to have access to the letter itself and to be able to decide for themselves?

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