During a well-visited meeting -eighty PhD-students were present- people turned out to be mostly afraid that the loss of their career development budget would lead to greater dependence on the department and their professor. If an aio wants to go to a conference or course, he has to appeal to general department funds and he can no longer count on a budget specially earmarked for aios. One department is richer than the other, an aio present stated. Another felt that the facilities had been promised to them when they were appointed at the UT.
Huib de Jong, together with head of the personnel department Kas de Vries, explained that the UT has to adhere to the collective labour agreement (CAO) that has made the employment conditions the same for aio's all over the country. UT PhD-students therefore lose their facilities package: the 'tegoedbon' (or token) for dissertations has disappeared and their budgets for career development and computers will be reduced slowly and then abolished. De Jong said to be prepared to investigate whether it is possible to create a separate UT-wide fund for aio's, in order for them to be less dependent on their specific department. He also had good news. PhD-students will after all get money to get their thesis printed. Each aio will receive 1,400 euro to that end.
Jon Barseme: 'I am very happy. That the dissertation costs are reimbursed after all is a bonus. And we also like the idea of a new system in which aio's get money from a central fund for career development.'
