It is enough! The five Styrian universities have called for a protest against the “insufficient increase in the university budget”. Up to 5,000 students, university employees and rectors marched together from the universities to the Graz Opera on Tuesday afternoon. Their main concern is the budget for 2024!
A week after the Vienna University of Technology, the University of Graz, the Technical University of Graz, the Graz University of Art, the Graz Medical University and the Montanuniversität Leoben also called for a demonstration on Tuesday: the march started from three university locations on 12 noon, around 1 pm they all found each other to the last meeting for the Graz opera – including posters, drums and whistles.
The budget is far from sufficient for 2024
“For years, the universities were already at the limit, now even more so. We’ve always done our job and never had to draw attention to it, but now we have to shout it out,” says an assistant professor at the Graz University of Technology, summarizing the concerns of the roughly 5,000 protesters who urgently need money .
For University Rector Peter Riedler and TU Graz Rector Harald Kainz, who spoke there, the increase in the budget by Minister of Education Martin Polaschek (ÖVP) from 250 to 400 million euros for 2023 is an important step, the money is enough but certainly not for 2024. Double the costs of 2023 are expected for this year, the science budget must be expanded – a total of 1.2 billion is needed.
Wave of layoffs predicted
The ÖH president of the art university, Simon Kintopp, fears “that the austerity measures mean death for us young artists”, the works councils too little salary and downsizing. Specifically, the TU Graz calculates that in the worst case there will be a job loss of 100 to 150 employees, and the University of Graz also estimates that about 100 positions will not be filled.
Principals were furious
Hellmut Samonigg, rector of MedUni Graz, sees the improvement as “no more than a positive sign”. This is nowhere near the amount the universities would need. “In the worst case, we lose 40 to 45 million euros. Personnel costs make up 70 percent of our budget. The contract provides for a two percent increase – in reality it will probably be around seven.”
More demos will probably follow
At around 1:30 p.m., the demonstration, which was peaceful, broke up. “There were no riots,” police said. The traffic could also have been “well maintained”. Franz-Graf-Allee in Graz remained closed during the demo, as did Glacisstraße. Only one lane was allowed to be used on the Opernring.
“We’ll probably see each other again in May or June,” says Kainz. Then the university funding for 2024 is at stake.
Source: Krone
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