The UT will abolish the 35,000 guilder bonus for aio's. The research assistants will get a considerable salary raise in return. This will make them - as far as can be determined - the highest paid aio's in the Netherlands.
First-year aio's will earn, retroactively from 1 June, 3698 guilder per month. Second-year PhD students get 3723 guilder. That is for both six-hundred guilder gross more per month than at present. Third- and fourth-year aio's will be earning respectively three- and two-hundred more each month, arriving at 3846 and 4281 guilder.
The substantial raise is a consequence from the new collective labour agreement (CAO) for universities which came into effect this summer. The collective labour agreement provides for a sizeable upgrade of aio-wages. The UT gets 2.3 million guilder extra from Education Secretary Hermans for this. But contrary to almost all other Dutch universities the UT will maintain the existing labour market allowance. This will make the PhD students in Twente the highest paid in the Netherlands.
Along with the substantial salary raise a large part of the aio-facilities package will be abolished. Only the thesis (7,000 guilder) and the computer facilities will be reimbursed as usual. Aio's who are now in their third or fourth year can make use of a transitional arrangement. First- and second-year PhD students do not qualify for this arrangement.
Froukje Jellema, representative for the aio-party UTemp in the University Council, is happy about the salary raise, but thinks that first- and second-year aio's should also be covered by the transitional arrangement. 'I am myself in my second year. I pay my public transport (OV-) card from my facilities package. And I would like to attend a number of courses to improve my chances on the labour market. If I have to pay for all that, I will be worse off even with a higher salary.
Jellema feels therefore that PhD students working at the UT are still entitled to the bonus. 'The UT has attracted aio's to Twente with this flexible package. It is in our contract. You cannot reverse it like that.'
According to the president of the Board of Governors, Arie van der Hek, the UT cannot escape the execution of the CAO. 'We have signed it together, therefore we have to adhere to it. If first- and second-year aio's keep their right to the facilities budget, they get both extra salary and an extra bonus. This plus-plus situation seems a bit much to us.'
Another important stumbling-block is the compensation for the thesis. Young researchers get their printing costs reimbursed, but will have to publish their book at the Twente University Press (TUP), the UT's publisher. Jellema: 'Aio's who can publish their thesisat a renowned publishing house will have to pay for this themselves. We feel that PhD students should have the choice.'
Van der Hek would like to meet the aio's halfway. 'In exceptional cases Twente University Press should supply work tailor-made for the aio. If a researcher can publish his or her thesis at MIT Press, TUP should facilitate that. Because it is good for the PhD student and good for the scientific status of the UT.'
The new terms of employment for aio's still have to be approved by the OPUT (consultation body for personnel affairs) and the management team (rector and faculty deans).
