BREAKING NEWS
BREAKING NEWS
May 9, 2023
DON’T FORGET TO FILL IN THE PHD SURVEY!
The University of Groningen conducts PhD surveys every second year to evaluate the satisfaction and progress of PhD students. This is of great importance for the University, but also for GRIN, so that we can obtain a clear picture of your experiences to further improve facilities and regulations.
You can find the link to your survey in the email you received from Petra Rudolf, the Dean of Graduate Studies.
It will take between 20 and 40 minutes for you to complete the survey, depending on your specific situation. You do not have to complete the survey all at once, as the link can be closed and opened again later, allowing you to continue where you left off. Please complete the survey on your desktop or laptop for optimal display.Thanks in advance!October 18, 2022
To the Board of the University of Groningen,
We, the Groningen Graduate Interest Network, Promovendi Netwerk Nederland, and all faculty PhD councils, are disappointed by the decision of the Board of the University regarding the 4% indexation of the scholarship PhD candidate salary, which was announced on September 27th, 2022 via the scholarship newsletter. Many PhD candidates have voiced their frustration regarding this decision with us. We believe that this frustration is justified and we urge you to reconsider your decision and match the indexation according to the contract.
First, we would like to point out the exact wording in the contracts which stipulates clearly that the scholarship is annually adjusted according to the CBS consumer price index. In precedence with previous years, in which the month of April has consistently been the reference, this would mean a 9.6% adjustment as of September. To stress the gravity of the situation, we would like to highlight that some scholarship PhD candidates are the sole breadwinner of their household. As costs of living are increasing due to higher energy prices and more expensive groceries, adding further issues by this lower indexation increases their mental burden.
We are particularly disappointed by the university's response in the media and to individual PhDs, which sought to justify the reduction to 4% by aligning it to the CAO agreement. Scholarship PhD candidates have never been treated as employees by the university and have been excluded from all benefits from the CAO agreements. In previous years, when the CAO increase was higher than the CPI, the board never chose to index the scholarship with these CAO increases. Furthermore, scholarship PhDs have not been represented in the negotiation of these terms, referring to this increase as justification carries no weight.
This letter is also a moral appeal to you, the Board of the University. Since the inception of the scholarship PhD experiment, the working conditions for scholarship PhDs - compared to their employee counterparts - have been a continuous source of discontent. By one-sidedly deciding on the income of scholarship PhDs, the Executive Board has exposed the scholarship PhD’s vulnerable labor conditions. Especially at the University of Groningen, aknowledge institute in which human capital is the main asset, the board should deeply care about the frustrations among PhD candidates.
Therefore, we demand the Board matches the indexation of the scholarships to the CPI (9,6% in April 2022), per the
contract and prior precedence. We hope you will address our concerns as soon as possible. We will follow your
meeting with the university council on Oct 27 with great interest.
Yours faithfully,
Groningen Graduate Interest Network,Promovendi Netwerk Nederland,PhD council GSSE,PhD council GSMS,PhD council GSEB,PhD council GSBSS,PhD council GSH,PhD council GSL,PhD council GSSS,PhD council GSPh,PhD council GSThRS,and PhD council GSCF.Oct 2, 2023
On the 20th of October, Our Board joined the PO Day at the beautiful Academiegebouw in Utrecht
Sep 21, 2023
Welcome new PhDs! Did you meet us during the PhD Introductry Event ?
Sep 21, 2023
Thank you all PhD Councils for joining us at the Kickoff Event!
June 14, 2023
Thank you all PhD Councils for joining us at Platform Meeting!
May 24, 2023
MAKE SURE THAT YOU FOLLOW US ON LINKEDIN!
We recently started posting news and developments on our LinkedIn account.To be updated make sure that you follow us: https://www.linkedin.com/company/groningen-graduate-interests/
October 15, 2022
Inflation Correction for Scholarship PhD's - Raising Awareness and a Call to Action
Scholarship PhDs, in principle, receive a fixed scholarship amount over the course of their 4-year trajectory. Their remuneration does not increase according to pay scale, as is the case with PhDs holding an employment contract. However, the contract of PhD scholarship students stipulates this amount is adjusted (or indexed) yearly on the basis of the consumer price index of the Central Bureau of Statistics.
This year the University stated that "On 1 September, the scholarships will be indexed by 4%, which is the same percentage as the recent salary increase for university employees.". However, the inflation correction of the CBS this year was 9.6%. If the University acted consistently to previous years, the amount by which the scholarships should be indexed should be 9.6%. The University is deviating from prior practice, as in 2020 and 2021 the scholarships were indexed equivalent to the inflation correction of the consumer price index of the Central Bureau of Statistics. The result is that PhD Scholarship recipients are receiving less money than they are contractually owed.