GRIN condemns CvB’s decision on indexation of scholarships

GRIN is surprised and disappointed to learn that the board of the University of Groningen has decided to increase the scholarship of bursary PhD students by only 4% this year. The bursary contract stipulates very clearly that the scholarship is annually adjusted according to the CBS consumer price index, which was 9.7% in April this year. We feel this decision is unfair to the bursary PhD students that already earn less than their employee colleagues and also did not receive the 450€ compensation granted to employee PhDs in June. Moreover, we are disappointed by the official communication the university has given in response to those PhDs who asked for clarification. We find it especially striking that the 4% increase is justified by comparing it to seemingly unrelated and anecdotal other inflation corrections, like tuition fees or the wage increase of employee PhDs. We consider the University a trustworthy employer and we hope that this wrongdoing is corrected shortly.