Workers Union Elections May 2023  

Workers Union of the Universität Wien 

 

Our alliance is an emancipatory-critical representation of interests of ALL academic staff members (including student assistants, tutors, lecturers, senior lecturers, pre- and post-docs, academic staff in research projects, assistant and associate professors, and all civil servants). We support a democratic and modern organization of the University of Vienna and its personnel structure. We are committed to gender equality and diversity.

 

Our university should recognized and valued the entire staff, no matter if they work in either research, teaching, and / or administration. We need a personnel policy that opens up opportunities and enables predictable university career paths.

 

All members of the university should have the possibility to participate in its development and have agency to design their own future. We want transparent and comprehensible decision-making structures, opportunities for effective participation, the dismantling of traditional hierarchies and access to resources based on actual responsibilities and accomplishments. 

 

Currently, more than two thirds of the academic staff at our university work under precarious conditions and contract durations are limited to eight years due to the University Organization Act and its paragraph 109. We are committed to end this intolerable situation, as it affects the health of temporary staff as well as the quality of research and teaching of all people working here.

 

We will build on what we already achieved and continue our work in the Senate for: 

 

 

• active democracy at the university and the reduction of hierarchical structures 
• significant increase in career perspectives and opportunities for the new generation of academics
• more permanent employment positions at all levels of academic staff 
• a significant increase of tenure track positions
• more permanent lecturer positions, full-time senior lecturer contracts, and a significant increase of senior scientist positions
• more transparency and participation in tenure track hiring proceedings and in associate professor tenure proceedings (Qualifizierungsvereinbarungen)
• representation of all academic staff in the university’s Development Plan
• significant improvement of student – teacher ratios
• equal distribution of courses and lectures with high student enrolment
• equal distribution of thesis supervision responsibilities
• more participation of all academic staff in the elaboration of curricula
• appropriate and scientifically meaningful evaluation of all courses and lectures
• equal, transparent, and balanced distribution of resources (money and staff) independent of current university hierarchies
• a consolidation of equality policy at all levels of employment at the University of Vienna
• responsible and sustainable use of the university’s resources