“The committee of the university trade union announces a nationwide one-hour warning strike to implement the demand for an increase in the amount of funding for higher education in the Czech Republic, which includes the salaries of university employees in the budget of the Ministry. Education and Culture. The committee of the university trade union calls on all university employees to participate in the strike,” the unions announced. . Website.
The strike follows spring protests by academics who are dissatisfied with their income. It was organized by the Hour of Truth group, which involved thirteen faculties from nine universities in the Czech Republic, eight of which were philosophy.
In some faculties, the October strike will take a larger form. “There will be a one-day strike at the Faculty of Arts at Palacky University and the Faculty of Arts at Charles University, the Faculty of Evangelical Theology at Charles University and the Faculty of Humanities at Charles University,” Ondřej Švec from the Faculty of Philosophy told the Hour of Truth in Prague.
The UK Trade Union Council has called on staff at a major Czech university to join a one-hour warning strike. It is not yet clear whether the university administration will support the protest. Charles University Rector Milena Kralikova and Palacky University Rector Martin Proszaska agreed that the College of Rectors will discuss it next week. “I still have to consult with my colleagues, but I think we will at least show understanding in the administration,” Kralikova said.
Universities will be allocated about 269 billion kroner in the state budget next year, the same as this year. According to Education Minister Mikulas Pekin (STAN), the amount of 30.9 billion for public universities will remain the same. However, according to members of the Hour of Truth initiative, maintaining the level of the higher education budget means that long-term funding of universities will continue.
Academics should therefore ask the government to “provide adequate funding for higher education in the state budget for 2024 so that universities can ensure decent wages and working conditions for all employees” and adopt a medium-term perspective on the growth of expenditure. Higher education relative to GDP is about the average of OECD countries. According to Eurostat data, public expenditure on tertiary education in the Czech Republic corresponds to 0.86 percent of GDP, while the average of EU countries is 1.27 percent of GDP.
