Greek university professors join action over admin staff jobs
Professors and lecturers at Athens University and at the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) decided on Monday to join a four-day strike starting on Tuesday in protest at the government’s plans to place 1,765 administrative staff in a public sector mobility scheme.
The strike means that enrollment has been postponed, as have exams that had been scheduled to be held this month.
The government is due to announce on September 20 its final plans for the transfer of administrative staff but following drastic reductions in funding, academics argue that Greek universities are being driven into the ground.
“Without exaggeration, this is the biggest crisis our university has faced,” said Athens University rector Theodoros Pelegrinis.
“The university is facing a dead end and will not be able to operate if what the Education Ministry is planning goes ahead.”
Pelegrinis claimed the University of Athens had seen its state funding slashed by almost 53 percent since 2009 and said that Greek universities only had a ratio of two administrative staff per 100 students, compared to an average of 9.5 in the USA and 7.9 in the UK.
