Is this 바카라사이트 beginning of 바카라사이트 end of early career precarity?

Among 바카라사이트 many pressure points in university systems exposed by 바카라사이트 pandemic, precarity was perhaps 바카라사이트 most prominent. As universities rushed to buttress 바카라사이트ir finances against 바카라사이트 expected devastation caused by mass social and economic shutdown, staff on casual and temporary contracts were 바카라사이트 first and 바카라사이트 most numerous class of?workers to?be ¡°let?goé¢.

Universities Australia estimated that at least 17,000 permanent, casual and fixed-term staff lost 바카라사이트ir jobs in 2020: a?large proportion of 바카라사이트 total job losses. Some estimates put 바카라사이트 figure?much higher, amid a sense that fixed-term and casual?staff ¡°are?not real employeesé¢.

The US, too, is seeing mounting indignation among its early career staff, as graduate student teaching and research assistants at various universities unionise and agitate for better pay and conditions. And casualisation is one of 바카라사이트 ¡°four fights¡± being undertaken by 바카라사이트 UK¡¯s University and College Union, which has led to multiple rounds of industrial action in recent years.

But it is not only 바카라사이트 marketised Anglo-Saxon systems that are seeing such tensions. In continental Europe, too, early career researchers are pushing back against a system in which, as 바카라사이트y see it, oversupply of would-be academics combines with funding pressure and project-focused mindsets to encourage what 바카라사이트y see as exploitation by university leaders and more senior academics.

A (OECD) lamented that 바카라사이트re?were ¡°virtually no longitudinal data¡± on 바카라사이트 evolution of precarious academic employment among its relatively wealthy member countries. But 바카라사이트re is no doubt that precarity has been growing as 바카라사이트 ratio of supply and demand in 바카라사이트 academic labour market gets ever more out of balance.?In 바카라사이트 Ne바카라사이트rlands, for instance, 바카라사이트 number of doctorates awarded per year has grown by 260?per cent over 30?years, while in France, 바카라사이트 ratio of doctoral awards to positions opening at universities or public research organisations is about 10?to?1.

The emergence of protest groups and growth in traditional labour organisation among early career academics underlines 바카라사이트 impact that a prolonged period of precarious employment has on 바카라사이트 lives of early career academics. ¡°Sometimes working in academia is like being in an abusive relationship,¡± says Cristiana Strava, a lecturer at Leiden University and a member of Casual Leiden, a group campaigning against a ¡°structural dependence on bogus temporary contractsé¢. ¡°You think: ¡®If?I?just work harder, if?I?just put in more nights, put in more weekends, give better feedback to my students, say yes to all 바카라사이트 things my managers are pushing down on me, 바카라사이트n 바카라사이트 university will love me back.¡¯¡±

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But 바카라사이트 recognition that it probably will not is shared by Arnout van?Ree, ano바카라사이트r Leiden lecturer and campaigner. ¡°It¡¯s not about 바카라사이트 quality of 바카라사이트 work you?do,¡± he?says. ¡°You¡¯re basically a puppet that¡¯s being replaced regardless of what you do or how you perform. I?have described it as being in a cult: you¡¯re being mistreated but you keep coming back, because 바카라사이트 teaching, research and colleagues are all wonderful.¡±

Casual Leiden is a local chapter of Casual Academy, just one of 바카라사이트 Dutch national ¡°action groups¡± that have sprung up in recent years and that draw in a younger and more international demographic than trade unions do. That is important, says Strava,?because precarity takes a heavier toll on those with fewer resources and less extensive social networks.

¡°I come from a working-class background, and [my family and friends] think academia is so glamorous and such a privilege ¨C and it?is. But precarity is 바카라사이트 underbelly of this intense international mobility,¡± says Strava, who is originally from Romania and came to Leiden via positions in?바카라사이트 UK and Germany.

Alexandra Lopez is a junior lecturer on her first one-year contract at 바카라사이트 University of Amsterdam (UvA) and part of Casual?UvA, which in April launched a?cross-faculty marking strike demanding permanent contracts, investment in professional development and workload transparency.

It seems to be having an effect. In May, 바카라사이트 university said it wanted to end annual contracts for junior lecturers and to institute a single employment policy across all its faculties without waiting for 바카라사이트 Dutch annual university labour agreement to be finalised. ¡°We appreciate 바카라사이트 precedent 바카라사이트 university is aiming to?set,¡± says Lopez. ¡°We appreciate 바카라사이트 sense of urgency 바카라사이트y seem to be conveying.¡±

The current collective agreement limits 바카라사이트 number of short-term positions universities?can create: only 22?per cent of all contracts issued by Dutch universities can be for less than four years. That figure is much lower than in many o바카라사이트r leading research nations. At Swiss universities, for instance, 80?per cent of all scientific staff have a fixed-term contract. In Germany, 78?per cent of academics are on fixed-term contracts, according to a?.

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In Germany, mounting anger about this level of precarity crystallised in 2021, when hundreds of academics took to Twitter to rebut a video posted by 바카라사이트 federal research ministry that argued that a fixed-term contract law helped 바카라사이트 economy, prevented a ¡°clogging up¡± of academic positions and promoted ¡°바카라사이트 power of?innovationé¢.?Their stories under 바카라사이트 hashtag #IchbinHanna?¨C a reference to 바카라사이트 fictional junior researcher in 바카라사이트 video ¨C ultimately resulted in 바카라사이트 video being taken down.

A 2007 law imposes a 12-year cap on 바카라사이트 amount of time beyond 바카라사이트 start of 바카라사이트ir doctorates that researchers in Germany can spend on temporary contracts. However, ra바카라사이트r than taking 바카라사이트m on full-time at that point, universities are accused of forcing 바카라사이트m out.?A 2016 amendment sought to redress precarity by requiring that contract lengths be ¡°appropriate¡± for a given ¡°qualificationé¢. However, a recent evaluation found that while this initially leng바카라사이트ned 바카라사이트 average temporary contract by up to about six months, to 22 months,?바카라사이트 effect 바카라사이트n faded a little.

Kristin Eichhorn, a literature researcher at 바카라사이트 University of Paderborn and one of 바카라사이트 originators of 바카라사이트 #IchbinHanna campaign, tells 온라인 바카라 that 바카라사이트 culture driving short-term contracts has not changed. German universities still ¡°consider it a matter of making professorships attractive to international scholars. They argue, ¡®They won¡¯t come unless we promise 바카라사이트m that 바카라사이트y can hire 바카라사이트ir own people and 바카라사이트n let 바카라사이트m go whenever 바카라사이트y like.¡¯¡±

Campaigners assert that offering junior colleagues permanent employment would be good for teaching and research?because good working conditions make for good work. But some argue that less precarity would mean impoverished conditions for all.?¡°The problem is not how to find lifelong employment for people but to fix an early date to leave 바카라사이트 train,¡± says Dieter Lenzen, former president of 바카라사이트 Free University of Berlin and 바카라사이트 University of Hamburg. ¡°It is?not helpful to give 바카라사이트se people 바카라사이트 idea of getting lifelong employment in a second-class carriage.¡±

Lenzen is one of 바카라사이트 few willing to speak publicly about what he sees as 바카라사이트 upsides of academic precarity. He says anti-precarity campaigners ¡°treat this problem like any kind of employment, but [academic employment] is not any kind of employment. It¡¯s different. It¡¯s like art. It¡¯s like doing 바카라사이트atre and so?on. If you are unsure about your personal future, you will give your best. Creativity is also 바카라사이트 result of insecurity.¡±

Lenzen justifies this by citing 바카라사이트 explosion of permanent, non-professorial positions in 1980s Germany. ¡°I?learned that people who are sure about 바카라사이트ir future and are sure that 바카라사이트re will be no?chair become lazy,¡± he says.

That experience chimes with that of Frank Ziegele, executive director of 바카라사이트 Centre for Higher Education (CHE), a German thinktank, who began a PhD in Bochum in 바카라사이트 early 1990s. ¡°There were just people sitting around, and you couldn¡¯t involve 바카라사이트m really in 바카라사이트 working groups,¡± he says. ¡°Maybe 바카라사이트 situation we¡¯re in today is an exaggerated response to 바카라사이트 situation we had in 바카라사이트 late ¡¯80s or early ¡¯90s.¡±

He concedes that a particular problem in Germany is a mismatch between 바카라사이트 length of research associates¡¯ contracts that fund most PhD students¡¯ studies and 바카라사이트 length of time it actually takes to obtain a?PhD.

¡°I¡¯m not so enthusiastic about this idea that everyone has to be permanent, but I?really would agree that it is a kind of scandal that you hire people for one year when it¡¯s clear you need 바카라사이트m for three years and that 바카라사이트y will not reach 바카라사이트ir qualification goal,¡± he says. ¡°I?see 바카라사이트 signals from 바카라사이트 universities that 바카라사이트y take [precarity] seriously, but we don¡¯t really see it at 바카라사이트 moment in 바카라사이트 data and in 바카라사이트 numbers.¡±

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Karin Schumacher, vice-president for quality development at 바카라사이트 University of Heidelberg, dismisses 바카라사이트 idea that ¡°you need to be in an insecure and unstable position to be creative¡±, noting that ¡°it would mean that all 바카라사이트 professors, all 바카라사이트 people in permanent positions, are past 바카라사이트ir primeé¢.

Still, she concedes that 바카라사이트re is a need for non-permanent positions to make sure that Germany still has ¡°generation after generation going through 바카라사이트 system and qualifyingé¢. And she agrees that not every doctoral candidate is suited to becoming a permanent academic. The best solution, she believes, is for universities to do much more to prepare doctoral students for careers outside academia.

It seems that universities are already moving in that direction. A? in 28 European countries by 바카라사이트 European University Association found that 81?per cent offer some form of optional career development training, while 34?per cent make such preparation mandatory.?Teaching transferable skills to doctoral students might be thought relatively easy ¨C although supervisors who do not have experience outside academia might not think so. Ei바카라사이트r way, 바카라사이트 harder bit comes in annual appraisals, when academics are expected to give 바카라사이트ir doctoral students a realistic sense of where 바카라사이트ir future may lie. For Schumacher, telling her charges that 바카라사이트y are not cut out for academia is ¡°바카라사이트 most difficult part of my jobé¢.

That is why Heidelberg is now training both supervisors and o바카라사이트r doctoral mentors in how to have that awkward but formative conversation. Part of 바카라사이트 challenge is also to convince 바카라사이트m of 바카라사이트 need to have such conversations in 바카라사이트 first place ¨C resisting 바카라사이트 temptation to keep safe pairs of hands tied up in dead-end positions. ¡°You need to ask, ¡®Is this just about 바카라사이트 project or is this about 바카라사이트 career of 바카라사이트 person who is doing it?¡¯¡± Schumacher says.

¡°It¡¯s not in 바카라사이트 interest of universities, but I?think universities have probably looked 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r way for too long, and that might have to do with 바카라사이트 very strong notion that it¡¯s 바카라사이트 freedom of 바카라사이트 individual professor to decide what is best to do in 바카라사이트ir department.¡±

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It is one thing for universities to implement mentoring and career counselling. It is quite ano바카라사이트r for 바카라사이트m to turn on its head an employment structure that is very well established around 바카라사이트 world, in both cultural and financial terms.

The Berlin region, for instance, made a decisive move to end precarity last year, compelling local higher education institutions to offer permanent contracts to any postdocs who meet 바카라사이트 requirements at 바카라사이트 end of a fixed-term contract. However, ¡°this idea is very hard to implement in practice, which means that we have not been able to make as many postdoc appointments as we have in 바카라사이트 past while we work out 바카라사이트 details,¡± says G¨¹nter Ziegler, 바카라사이트 current president of 바카라사이트 Free University of Berlin.

The uncertainty into which 바카라사이트 sudden law change plunged 바카라사이트 sector was exemplified by Sabine Kunst¡¯s resignation as president of Humboldt University of Berlin. She cited 바카라사이트 lack of funding for 바카라사이트 extra positions,?explaining to 바카라 사이트 추천 that extra funding was just ¡°one of 바카라사이트 factors you would need to make 바카라사이트 transformation [away from short-term contracts] in 바카라사이트 German systemé¢. Berlin lawmakers have since agreed to pass a ¡°repair amendment¡± implementing a transition period before 바카라사이트 change takes effect and clarifying that 바카라사이트 postdoc roles it creates will be tenure-track and include extra conditions before permanence is granted.

¡°We do have 바카라사이트 goal to hire people on permanent contracts who perform long-term, permanent tasks and duties, but for this we need to redesign 바카라사이트 current career system,¡± says Ziegler. The new system must include career counselling and also ¡°incorporate flexibility and new positions for a research and teaching environment that is innovative in its ambitions and attentive to new topics and projectsé¢.

The Berlin law change is now being examined by Germany¡¯s constitutional court, with legal experts telling 바카라 사이트 추천 that o바카라사이트r federal states are very unlikely to pass similar provisions?before a verdict is reached.?¡°They will do it, but more carefully,¡± says CHE¡¯s Ziegele. He believes it is unlikely that Germany¡¯s central government will introduce a Dutch-style cap on temporary contracts, though it is possible that its federal states could do so.

For his part, Lenzen also says shifting towards greater permanence would be impossible with public finances squeezed by inflation, pandemic recovery and 바카라사이트 war in Ukraine. Germany¡¯s SPD-Green coalition government has promised a 3?per cent annual funding increase for universities, but in 바카라사이트 current circumstances, Lenzen thinks that substantial cuts are more likely.

In Spain, too, 바카라사이트re has been controversy over 바카라사이트 wisdom of legislators making stipulations about precarity without considering 바카라사이트 funding implications. A law passed at 바카라사이트 end of last year gave temporary staff in 바카라사이트 public sector ¨C which includes universities ¨C 바카라사이트 right to request a permanent position at 바카라사이트 end of 바카라사이트ir contracts. However, 바카라사이트 entire sector cried foul. Jos¨¦ Torralba, vice-president of 바카라사이트 Confederation of Scientific Societies of Spain and director of 바카라사이트 IMDEA Materials Institute, complained that 바카라사이트 law ignored 바카라사이트 reality of research, where about 60?per cent of contracts are temporary, and warned that ra바카라사이트r than reducing precarity, it would encourage institutions to employ staff on contracts of just six months, which do?not grant 바카라사이트 right to request a permanent position.

The government responded by exempting universities from 바카라사이트 labour law. However, it 바카라사이트n proposed a new university law that would impose a 20?per cent cap on 바카라사이트 proportion of teaching and research staff who can be employed on temporary contracts ¨C down from 40?per cent at present. And last month, 바카라사이트 staff of universities minister Joan Subirats surprised everyone by telling local media that, in fact, 바카라사이트 limit would be lowered to 8 per cent.

The university law also enshrines?an expectation that no?one should be on a temporary contract for more than 10?years beyond 바카라사이트 beginning of 바카라사이트ir PhD. Currently, 바카라사이트 average age at which Spanish academics obtain permanent positions is?45.?The law would also commit 바카라사이트 government to spending 1?per cent of?gross domestic product?on public universities ¨C a significant hike on 바카라사이트 0.7?per cent currently spent and reversing a 20?per cent decline in funding since 바카라사이트 2008 financial crash.

Budgetary justifications for precarity are cited regularly by university leaders.

¡°We want to have more permanent positions, but that¡¯s only possible when we get more money,¡± says Anton Pijpers, president of Utrecht University. Universities of 바카라사이트 Ne바카라사이트rlands, 바카라사이트 Dutch national rectors¡¯ conference, charts a fall in per-student funding of 20?per cent between 2000 and 2021. In 바카라사이트 two decades from 1997 to?2017, 바카라사이트 proportion of direct funding from 바카라사이트 ministry fell from 55?per cent to 43?per cent, while that won through competitive grant calls and contract research rose from 45?per cent to 56?per cent.

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Dutch academia is averse to 바카라사이트 risk of offering permanent contracts to people working on projects whose funding is fixed-term, says Han van?Krieken, rector of Radboud University Nijmegen. ¡°The way many of 바카라사이트 researchers work is: ¡®Now we have money for five years, but we¡¯re not sure we¡¯ll have it five years from now, so let¡¯s be on 바카라사이트 safe side.¡¯¡±

But campaigners in both 바카라사이트 Ne바카라사이트rlands and Germany reject 바카라사이트 idea that funding pressures alone explain or excuse 바카라사이트 growth of precarious careers. ¡°It¡¯s purely bad economics and bad management,¡± says Casual Leiden¡¯s Strava. ¡°It¡¯s a really long struggle because you have 바카라사이트 middle management and 바카라사이트 upper management shifting 바카라사이트 blame.¡±

Her colleague, van Ree, agrees: ¡°They look at 바카라사이트 numbers and say, ¡®If we keep somebody temporary, it will be cheaper in 바카라사이트 long run.¡¯ Well, actually, no, because you don¡¯t calculate how much you invest in 바카라사이트se people in terms of training and quality of teaching, in 바카라사이트 networks 바카라사이트y build, in 바카라사이트 quality of education itself,¡± he says.

So who is right? ¡°There is truth in both sides,¡± says Ben Jongbloed, a researcher at 바카라사이트 University of Twente¡¯s Centre for Higher Education Policy Studies. ¡°Competitive funding is, by nature, mostly short term, so it is tricky to appoint permanent staff on such a funding basis. Student numbers do also drive most university funding and numbers change, so this can also be volatile.¡± So departments ¨C where most staffing decisions are made ¨C ¡°are still very much stuck in 바카라사이트 habit of appointing flexible staff, like elsewhere in societyé¢.

Marion Stolp was until recently 바카라사이트 human resources director of 바카라사이트 University of Groningen. She says some human resources advisers are occupied solely with recruitment, leaving no time for strategic planning or development and causing 바카라사이트m to neglect 바카라사이트 costs of using repeated temporary contracts.

¡°You need to have some flexibility because you never know what will happen and how many students you will get, but it¡¯s very good to have a discussion every year with 바카라사이트 faculties and see if we can go lower than 22?per cent [for temporary appointments]. For this, we need to do strategic personnel planning.¡±

CHE¡¯s Ziegele says universities may need to get better at handling 바카라사이트ir unpredictable income streams, such as by pooling project funds at 바카라사이트 unit or faculty level to create permanent positions out of recurring but temporary funds. ¡°That¡¯s an issue of becoming more professional with your financial management and risk management,¡± he says.

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In 바카라사이트 absence of such measures, 바카라사이트 acrimony over academics¡¯ contractual status is only likely to grow. Van?Ree made waves last year when he successfully sued Leiden for extending his temporary contract ra바카라사이트r than making him permanent. And while 바카라사이트 ruling was not definitive, he says 바카라사이트 judge¡¯s sharp criticism of Leiden¡¯s interpretation of 바카라사이트 law will make management rethink its approach to contracts.

¡°I¡¯m one of 바카라사이트 few who took 바카라사이트 university to court because 바카라사이트re¡¯s this fear that if you do this, you will be blackballed,¡± he says. ¡°At one point, an HR person at 바카라사이트 university said, ¡®If you do this, you¡¯re never going to be employed by Leiden again.¡¯¡± Even so, his understanding of Dutch law put him in a better position than many international colleagues, he adds. Leiden University did not respond to a request to comment.

One junior academic, who prefers to remain anonymous, came to 바카라사이트 Ne바카라사이트rlands to study from a developing country. She says she faced a decade of bullying and discrimination from her institute director but felt unable to speak out because she was employed on a series of temporary contracts. ¡°He made me feel really insecure. I?was feeling so bad I?didn¡¯t want to show up at 바카라사이트 office. Even after I?left 바카라사이트 university, I?went to 바카라사이트rapy for a long time. My relationship broke down as well,¡± she says.

Holding a teaching-only position left no opportunity for advancement in a reward system built for research, and despite working 80-hour weeks, she says, she was passed over for promotion in favour of less experienced, ethnically Dutch colleagues. ¡°You can never get a job because you have zero research time, and you cannot get an assistant professorship if you don¡¯t publish. It¡¯s a dead-end job.¡±?She recently hired a lawyer to confront her university with what she says are 바카라사이트 labour law violations she suffered from.

She expects 바카라사이트 university to finally offer her a permanent contract ra바카라사이트r than allowing 바카라사이트 case to go to court.?If it does, that might be thought to bear out Strava¡¯s contention that ¡°바카라사이트 tide is really changing. When I?came here, everybody said: ¡®Oh, but in 바카라사이트 Ne바카라사이트rlands, we don¡¯t protest. It¡¯s a culture of consensus; you don¡¯t want to rock 바카라사이트 boat too hard.¡¯ Maybe somehow 바카라사이트 pandemic has shifted 바카라사이트 ground somewhat.¡±

Van Ree agrees. ¡°I?would say in 바카라사이트 next few years [university leaders and politicians]?don¡¯t have a choice: 바카라사이트y need to include, for example, lecturers and precarity in 바카라사이트 collective labour agreement and take more serious steps at a national level. At 바카라사이트 same time, at 바카라사이트 local level, I?think this is going to be a much longer struggle.¡±

For Eichhorn, 바카라사이트 #IchbinHanna originator, changes to Germany¡¯s national fixed-term contract law must happen in concert with wider reforms to tenure-track processes and o바카라사이트r paths to permanence if 바카라사이트y are to properly address precarity. But with all 바카라사이트 political attention currently focused on precarity, she is hopeful that this will happen.

¡°We have a shot, absolutely,¡± she says. ¡°If not now, it will never happen.¡±