UvA announces new "Lecturer Policy"
by Casual UvA
From the UvA announcement:
The UvA is currently working on a new lecturer policy. The new policy, for which an outline has been drawn up, is intended to reduce the number of temporary appointments, improve job security for lecturers and offer more career prospects.
Aim and starting points of the new lecturer policy
The outline lecturer policy document sets out principles for improving the job security and career opportunities of lecturers. The starting points are as follows:
- Recognition of the lecturer position as a full-fledged position within the university;
- Increasing job security;
- Adequate scope and interpretation of the employment relationship;
- Career prospects through the development of a career path for lecturers;
- Transparency, for example about the workload, career and future prospects.
Constructive discussion with UCLO and Central Works Council
On Friday, 8 April, the outline of the new policy – which was also discussed with the deans in March – was on the agenda of a meeting between the Executive Board and representatives of the University Local Consultative Committee (UCLO) and the Central Works Council. Geert ten Dam, President of the UvA Executive Board: 'It was a constructive meeting. The new policy is going to be very different from current practice. Lecturers are crucial for our education and this needs to be reflected in a solid and social personnel policy. The time when lecturers are only deployed for absence and peak periods is far behind us.'
The UvA considers the position of lecturers to be so important that we are not waiting for the new Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities. The role that Casual UvA played in getting this on the agenda certainly played a part here.
Temporary appointments
The balance between temporary and permanent contracts is something that the UvA has been working on for some time. The UvA has set a target of a maximum of 22% for temporary employment contracts in teaching positions. At the end of January 2022, this percentage was 21.4%. Although this compares favourably with other universities, the current policy for temporary lecturers is nonetheless outdated. This was also established jointly in a meeting in January 2022 with Executive Board President Geert ten Dam, HRM Director Robert Grem and a delegation from action group 0.7, CasualAcademy and Casual UvA.
Follow-up process
The lecturer policy will be developed further in the coming period. The next Tripartite meeting between the Executive Board and representatives of UCLO and the Central Works Council will take place on 13 May. Coordination and consultation with the individual parties on the draft policy will take place before that time. In addition, internal coordination will take place with the faculties and relevant staff departments. The conversation with Casual UvA will also be continued. The intention is to get the approval of the Executive Board on the new lecturer policy before the summer.