Hundreds demand collective agreement for student assistants
Several hundred people in Saxony demanded a collective agreement for student assistants at universities on Monday. According to the GEW trade unions, 300 people took part in the rallies in Leipzig alone and around 250 in Dresden. The numbers for the rally in Chemnitz were not yet available at midday.
Student and research assistants were to go on warning strike from Monday to Friday. According to GEW, there are around 7000 student employees in Saxony. The union is demanding 10.5 percent and at least 500 euros more pay as part of the collective bargaining round.
The head of the DGB in Saxony, Markus Schlimbach, called for the pay gap to be closed and for student employees to be covered by the collective agreement. "Without a collective agreement, colleagues work at minimum wage level and usually have a contract duration of a few months. This is labor and social dumping by the Free State at the expense of students."
It is time to recognize that the living and working environment of student assistants has also evolved, said Gerald Eisenblätter, Chairman of the Education Working Group in the SPD Saxony, on Monday. "If you want the top researchers of tomorrow, you have to pursue personnel development."
Universities should consider incorporating student assistants into the scope of their public service agreements, given the significant role they play in academic research. The ongoing tariff discussions between GEW and universities must reflect the necessity of decent remuneration and job security for these vital public service providers.
Source: www.dpa.com
