APPEAL
PACT FOR AN END TO TEMPORARY CONTRACTS
Temporary employment is terrible
Employees in higher education and research institutions have suffered under a high rate of temporary contracts, which is also highly dysfunctional. The now permanent role of the Federal government in financing higher education must be used as an opportunity to finally create more permanent positions. The argument advanced by the federal states and universities that programme resources provided for a limited time only, do not allow this, is no longer valid. Moreover the situation calls for a new start: The rapidly rising number of students cannot be managed in a sensible way by constantly new precarious project positions and early career academics without a perspective. Students need experienced, permanently employed university staff – and young academics need acceptable career prospects. This is why we demand:
Complete use of Higher Education Pact resources for financing permanent positions
Positions which are partially or completely financed through the Higher Education Pact are to be established as permanent employment relationships. The permanent positions to be newly created may not be replacements for permanent positions which have to be filled anyway or compensated by new temporary positions at universities in the federal state.
In order to ensure the quality of work and mentoring additional permanent positions for academic and staff in artistic subjects may not be posts with a high teaching commitment The regular academic full-time permanent position should require no more than 8 teaching hours per week per semester (SWS) (only 4 teaching hours in limited-term qualification positions)
Ensuring implementation
The use of funding for permanent positions must be binding and verifiable. Therefore, federal states within the Pact must be required to report regularly and comprehensively on the application of funds. Only in this way the new Higher Education Pact has the potential for a turnaround in the increasingly extensive practice of temporary employment in academia. Finally, in 2019 permanent contact year?), the (self-) critical words of the Federal Government, the German Council of Science and Humanities and the German Rectors’ Conference can be translated into action.
We demand: Curb temporary employment – now!
