Suport for the University Strike of October 17

RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF THE CZECH ASSOCIATION OF DOCTORAL RESEARCHERS ON THE UNIVERSITY STRIKE ON OCTOBER 17

Prague, October 12, 2023.

By this resolution, we express our support for the Hodina pravdy initiative, including the strike called by Hodina pravdy and Vysokoškolský odborový svaz (the University Trade Union) and the protest that will take place on October 17, 2023. The Board of the Czech Association of Doctoral Researches has been monitoring the situation since the spring of 2023, when Hodina pravdy first brought attention to the abysmal financial situation of pedagogues and other employees of universities and the overall underfunding of universities, in particular of the faculties of humanities and social sciences.

We concur with the demands for an increase in the total volume of funding for universities that would ensure decent salary conditions for all employees at the faculties, and above all with the appeal for the approval of the amendment to the Higher Education Act, which is also supposed to bring about a reform of doctoral studies, in the shortest possible time. As we have been pointing out consistently, the conditions of doctoral researchers in the Czech Republic do not correspond to the results expected from them, and low scholarships force them to seek other sources of income, thereby causing them to extend the duration of their studies. Existential reasons make some doctoral researchers abandon the doctorate completely or go abroad to workplaces where adequate support is provided.

We invite members of ČAD to consider supporting Hodina pravdy and participating in the protest march.

Board of the Czech Association of Doctoral Researchers

You can read the full resolution in a pdf format here.

The Czech version of the resulting can be found here and bellow as well.