EUI Researchers' Union

19/10/2023

The Union needs you! Step up to shape EUI's future ✊

Over the past two years, our collective efforts have initiated tangible change within our community. Now, it's your chance to be a key player in the process!

Joining the Union board offers a unique platform to connect with peers from other disciplines and cohorts. It's more than a position—it's a pledge to solidify bonds between researchers and champion a progressive workplace ✨

🔗 If you have any questions about the workings of the union and the positions, feel free to contact us. For more information, you can also visit the Union’s official website: https://www.euiresunion.com/

02/12/2022

together we continue to march towards grant equality ✊

01/11/2022

Today on Público: Spanish researchers denounce the precarious and unequal working conditions at the EUI ✊

For the same job as their colleagues, they are paid around two to three times less - without access to healthcare. Inflation and rising energy prices make this situation all the more difficult.

"It is clear that the inequality between salaries is detrimental to researchers' performances. For example, it is mainly Spaniards who look for other jobs within the Institute. This affects the quality of our work."

Is this the 🇪🇺 equality of opportunity we are striving for?

We want grant equality NOW!

20/09/2022

Do you want to help us make the EUI a better working space for everyone?

We are about to elect the Union’s first board ever - and we are looking for people to fill the following positions:

Council (five positions)
o The council is the guiding body of the Union. Its members meet at least once a month to deliberate the Union’s activities. Four of the five members of the council will be delegated the responsibility for a working group each. The last member will be responsible for the budget. Two members will be elected for half a year, and three members will be elected for a year.

Secretariat (three positions)
o The secretariat coordinates the internal and external communication of the Union and organises, moderates, and takes notes of meetings. It is also responsible for implementing the funding decisions reached by the Council. Elected for a year.

Auditor (one position)
o The auditor is tasked with overseeing the management of the budget by the Council and the Secretariat. Elected for a year.

All you need to do to run is to send an email to [email protected] within October 7th with your name, year, department and the position you want to run for (if you are running for a position within the council, please specify whether you are running for a half a year or a year).

Candidate applications open on September 28th, the day of our first assembly. The elections will be held on October 14th.

All members of the Union partake in decision-making, and you are very much encouraged to be actively involved in the Union’s activities without being an elected member.

It is the first time in the history of this Institute that researchers unionise, and we need as many of you as possible to be part of the process!

In solidarity,
The EUI Researchers’ Union.

07/09/2022

Welcome back to all those who just returned from their summer break, and a warm welcome to our colleagues arriving as first-year researchers.

The researchers’ union, as a grass-root initiative, was born out of necessity and solidarity. Our concern over economic inequalities initially brought us together to take action towards the Institute’s unfair payment scheme. In the past year, we held monthly assemblies with democratic procedures and built a campaign pushing for change within the university and across member states. But though our fight started with grant inequality, we now hope to diversify the avenues of struggles to tackle wider issues researchers face within the institute.

It is the first time in the history of this Institute that researchers unionise, and the potential is infinite. We need as many of you as possible to be part of this process. Together, we can make a difference!

If you want to know more about the Union and how you can help or if you want to propose other challenges that should be addressed, here is an outline of our key events for the coming weeks:
* 22 September: come meet us at the serendipity event
* 28 September: first assembly of the year - get to know the union!
* 14 October: welcoming party

You can sign up to join the union by filling out this form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe05y5qGY1gE84ZfXkR4OH3g5x9vr-TvlDuSxEiK8Lojod-Lw/viewform. Note that the first board of the Union will be elected in October, and every member can run for positions. All members will be receiving an e-mail shortly with information on the election process.

In Solidarity,
The EUI Researcher’s Union.

09/05/2022

Our fight for grant equality at the EUI made it to La Repubblica again - the first online newspaper in Italy with more than 200.000 copies sold every day (!!)

06/05/2022

Yesterday's protest covered in the Italian press! (the figures on grants have been updated in the article)

The full article is available here: https://firenze.repubblica.it/cronaca/2022/05/05/news/fanno_lo_stesso_lavoro_e_nella_stessa_citta_ma_un_ricercatore_greco_guadagna_1300_euro_e_un_danese_oltre_3000_euro_prote-348254094/?fbclid=IwAR2k_Zs0IY-JmpSolvon8sv5dDS_0bgJcZCj_aeZdXrds4naIpPRqgQ1pBY

Fanno lo stesso lavoro, nello stesso posto, ma un ricercatore greco guadagna 1.300 euro al mese, il danese più di 3.000 euro, ovvero due volte e mezzo il collega. Per questo un gruppo di ricercatori di dottorato dell'Istituto universitario europeo di Fiesole (Firenze) ha dato vita oggi 5 maggio, in concomitanza con la conferenza europea The State of the Union in corso presso la Badia Fiesolana, a un'iniziativa di protesta contro le disparità nella retribuzione.
Lo stipendio varia dai circa 1.000 euro per i ricercatori greci agli oltre 3.000 euro per i danesi. "Non solo gli stipendi sono diversi, ma anche l'accesso all'assicurazione sanitaria e ai sussidi di disoccupazione. Diversi enti sovvenzionatori pagano al di sotto del costo della vita a Firenze calcolato dall'Istituto. Questa è un'Europa inadatta alla prossima generazione".
L'articolo è su La Repubblica Firenze

05/05/2022

Great turnout today! Thank you so much to everyone who came!

We will be posting more information on the next steps for the birth of our Union shortly, including on elections. Remember that everyone is welcome (and highly encouraged) to get involved - we need all the help we can get!

We hope to see as many of you engaged in the future :)