Staff and students at Radboud University to go on strike. This was announced by the unions and action group WOinAction in a joint press release. The action on 13 March is part of a nationwide relay strike: Dutch universities will take turns to close for a day.

The possibility had been discussed for some time but now it has been set in concrete: the relay strike in higher education will take place. “On 13 March, we will not be going to work or attending lectures. We will be demonstrating,” according to a press release issued by the Nijmegen unions. Nijmegen is the first university city to announce the date for the relay strike.

The exact plans for the strike action at Radboud University are not yet known. On 13 February, the unions and action groups WOinAction and 0.7 will discuss the details of the protest. “We call on everyone to come to the action meeting,” says the press release.

‘The plan is that one or two universities will close their doors every week’, explains Willem Halffman from WOinAction. ‘We do not intend to make it impossible for others on campus to work’, he continues. ‘But we do appeal to all students and staff to support the action.’

Previous actions

The relay strike is not the first action against the austerity plans announced by education minister Eppo Bruins. On 14 November 2024, protests took place in both Utrecht and Nijmegen. Shortly afterwards, 20,000 students and staff demonstrated on the Malieveld in The Hague. This was followed by a cycle protest in Nijmegen in December, with staff cycling from campus to city hall.

Despite Minister Bruins reversing some of the plans, cuts amounting to around 1.3 billion euros remains – instead of the previously announced 2 billion – are still on the agenda.

Senate

In last Monday afternoon’s Joint Assembly, new president of the Executive Board Alexandra van Huffelen was asked for her opinion on a possible education strike. ‘Where does the Executive Board stand on a relay strike?’, works council member Peter van der Heiden wanted to know.

‘We want to do everything we can to reverse those cuts’, said Van Huffelen, referring to the interview she gave earlier to Vox. ‘The Senate is yet to debate which cuts will and which won’t go ahead. I think that it’s good that we are exploring how we can work with other universities to continue drawing attention to this issue.’

Asked whether that meant that Van Huffelen supported the education strike, the president replied that she first wanted to know more details about the planned strike. ‘That’s something we need to discuss. It would be nice if students could still get some education, so we need to take a closer look at how we can do that. I’d like to talk about that with you.’