At this moment, we are at a crucial stage of the struggle. It is not only a struggle against lay-offs. It is a struggle to defend Public Higher Education as a social right against privatization and commodification. It is a struggle to defend Higher Education as a democratic social and political space against the neoliberal authoritarianism.
Since early September an important battle has been waged in Greek Universities against the mass lay-offs of administrative personnel. As part of the draconian austerity terms of the bail-out agreements with the “Troika” (EU-IMF-ECB), the Greek Government has been forced to reduce the number of public sector employees. Part of this reduction process are the so-called ”suspension –mobility” schemes”, according to which civil servants and public sector employees are suspended (receiving for some months only 75% of the their basic salary) and then be either moved to another position (“mobility”) or simple laid-off. The continuation of the loan payments by the Troika is dependent upon accomplishing specific numbers of suspensions and lay-offs.
Greek Universities have also been included in this process, despite being notoriously under-stuffed. More than 1,300 University employees (administrative personnel, guards, etc.) are going to be suspended, with more than half of them facing eventual lay-off. Greece’s two oldest Universities, the University of Athens and the National Technical University have received the heaviest blow. To give an example: the University of Athens will lose 498 of its 1,337 employees in technical and administrative positions. Whole departments such as the Physics Department, the Chemistry Department, the Informatics and Communication Department will be left with no administrative personnel at all.
These suspensions and lay-offs will totally cripple Universities’ ability to function properly. Departments are going to be left with practically no administrative staff. Libraries will be left without librarians. University campuses will be left without guards for their entrances. Research funding will be lost because of the absence of staff to handle applications.
This lay-offs came after three years of reduced budgets (some universities find it difficult to pay their electricity bills), slashing of funding for adjunct faculty members, prolonged delays (more than 3 years in average) in appointing elected faculty members, and forced department closures. The current attack follows the introduction of aggressive neoliberal reforms that have drastically reduced student participation and undermined democratic procedure within Greek Universities, in line with the “Bologna Process”.
The reaction by the unions of University administrative personnel has to been to call for mass strikes. The University of Athens and the National Technical University have been closed since the beginning of September, and there have been no exams, classes, enrollments. In other universities that have been affected by the suspensions / lay-offs there have been prolonged strikes.
The Greek Government has attempted to use students as a means to put pressure on the Unions. However, Student unions have called for mass occupations of University buildings in support of the striking employees and against what is being perceived as the dismantling and potential privatization of Higher Education. University Teachers Unions have also staged prolonged strikes.
The Ministry of Education has adopted an extreme authoritarian and disciplinary attitude. It has initiated disciplinary process (with the danger of eventual lay-off) of 278 employees that refused to be part of the selection process for the suspensions invoking their right not to participate in administrative processes when on strike. It has gone to the Courts demanding the strike to be declared illegal. However, the Unions are defying the Court order. It has even announced that it will use riot police units to open Universities.
The only allies of the Government have been the student sections of the New Democracy party that has tried – without success – to initiate an “Open Universities” movement and the University Councils, new oligarchic governing bodies introduced as part of the latest wave of neoliberal reforms.
The announcement of the preliminary list of employees to be suspended made everyone realize that it would practically impossible for Universities to function properly. The Senates of the University of Athens and the Aristotelian University of Thessalonica have announced their resignations in protest. Students are insisting in their occupations.
At this moment, we are at a crucial stage of the struggle. It is not only a struggle against lay-offs. It is a struggle to defend Public Higher Education as a social right against privatization and commodification. It is a struggle to defend Higher Education as a democratic social and political space against the neoliberal authoritarianism.
This struggle needs all the support and solidarity it can get!
Panagiotis Sotiris
The struggle in Greek Universities needs all the support and solidarity it can get!
Since early September an important battle has been waged in Greek Universities against the mass lay-offs of administrative personnel. As part of the draconian austerity terms of the bail-out agreements with the “Troika” (EU-IMF-ECB), the Greek Government has been forced to reduce the number of public sector employees. Part of this reduction process are the so-called ”suspension –mobility” schemes”, according to which civil servants and public sector employees are suspended (receiving for some months only 75% of the their basic salary) and then be either moved to another position (“mobility”) or simple laid-off. The continuation of the loan payments by the Troika is dependent upon accomplishing specific numbers of suspensions and lay-offs.
Greek Universities have also been included in this process, despite being notoriously under-stuffed. More than 1,300 University employees (administrative personnel, guards, etc.) are going to be suspended, with more than half of them facing eventual lay-off. Greece’s two oldest Universities, the University of Athens and the National Technical University have received the heaviest blow. To give an example: the University of Athens will lose 498 of its 1,337 employees in technical and administrative positions. Whole departments such as the Physics Department, the Chemistry Department, the Informatics and Communication Department will be left with no administrative personnel at all.
These suspensions and lay-offs will totally cripple Universities’ ability to function properly. Departments are going to be left with practically no administrative staff. Libraries will be left without librarians. University campuses will be left without guards for their entrances. Research funding will be lost because of the absence of staff to handle applications.
This lay-offs came after three years of reduced budgets (some universities find it difficult to pay their electricity bills), slashing of funding for adjunct faculty members, prolonged delays (more than 3 years in average) in appointing elected faculty members, and forced department closures. The current attack follows the introduction of aggressive neoliberal reforms that have drastically reduced student participation and undermined democratic procedure within Greek Universities, in line with the “Bologna Process”.
The reaction by the unions of University administrative personnel has to been to call for mass strikes. The University of Athens and the National Technical University have been closed since the beginning of September, and there have been no exams, classes, enrollments. In other universities that have been affected by the suspensions / lay-offs there have been prolonged strikes.
The Greek Government has attempted to use students as a means to put pressure on the Unions. However, Student unions have called for mass occupations of University buildings in support of the striking employees and against what is being perceived as the dismantling and potential privatization of Higher Education. University Teachers Unions have also staged prolonged strikes.
The Ministry of Education has adopted an extreme authoritarian and disciplinary attitude. It has initiated disciplinary process (with the danger of eventual lay-off) of 278 employees that refused to be part of the selection process for the suspensions invoking their right not to participate in administrative processes when on strike. It has gone to the Courts demanding the strike to be declared illegal. However, the Unions are defying the Court order. It has even announced that it will use riot police units to open Universities.
The only allies of the Government have been the student sections of the New Democracy party that has tried – without success – to initiate an “Open Universities” movement and the University Councils, new oligarchic governing bodies introduced as part of the latest wave of neoliberal reforms.
The announcement of the preliminary list of employees to be suspended made everyone realize that it would practically impossible for Universities to function properly. The Senates of the University of Athens and the Aristotelian University of Thessalonica have announced their resignations in protest. Students are insisting in their occupations.
At this moment, we are at a crucial stage of the struggle. It is not only a struggle against lay-offs. It is a struggle to defend Public Higher Education as a social right against privatization and commodification. It is a struggle to defend Higher Education as a democratic social and political space against the neoliberal authoritarianism.
This struggle needs all the support and solidarity it can get!
Panagiotis Sotiris
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