Boycott at Biology: »No purpose in meeting the rector«

Aplanned town hall meeting between the rector of the University of Copenhagen (UCPH) and staff at the Department of Biology has been cancelled.

This is after a joint email to Rector David Dreyer Lassen from all heads of sections at the department Monday 27 October stating that they saw no point in him coming for a long-time scheduled visit the following Thursday.

The meeting cancellation comes amid major cutbacks at the Faculty of Science where departments are expected to find DKK 100 million in savings to cover a recurring budget shortfall.

According to Rasmus Hartmann-Petersen, a professor and head of the Biomolecular Sciences section, the Department of Biology alone needs to cut between DKK 15 and 20 million, and employees are concerned about losing their jobs.

»We have attempted constructive dialogue through the University Post, and through direct appeals to you. In the responses we have received from management, we have not seen any real willingness to take employees’ legitimate questions and objections seriously,« the email to the rector reads. The University Post has seen a copy.

»There is therefore broad agreement among department staff — out of respect for those who, after the meeting, will be proposed dismissed — that a meeting with you serves no purpose,« the email continues. It is signed by the heads of all 11 sections at the department.

No real dialogue

The rector’s visit was part of a series of department visits he began after the summer break.

According to a post on the UCPH intranet KUnet, the plan is for Rector David Dreyer Lassen to visit all university departments within a year to meet staff and discuss the university’s 2030 strategy ‘Creating benefit for more people’.

»I’m coming to meet you and hear what’s on your minds,« the rector said in a KUnet news release when the initiative was launched.

Rasmus Hartmann-Petersen says the decision to boycott the meeting came after a long period of dissatisfaction with how management has handled the cutbacks:

»We see no reason for him to come. If he had, it would just have caused more frustration. We have not seen any real answers from management to our questions,« he tells the University Post.

Department faculty boards at the Faculty of Science (excluding these departments’ managements) sent an open letter to David Dreyer Lassen published in the University Post on 18 September outlining their frustration.

According to Rasmus Hartmann-Petersen, the rector’s reply — also published in the University Post — to the staff’s open letter was an eye-opener.

»We got a textbook management response, and none of the specific questions we had raised were addressed. It didn’t seem like there had been any attempt to find a less destructive solution. It left us with the impression that there was no genuine dialogue,« he says.

Spare people further frustration

For Rasmus Hartmann-Petersen, the boycott is also about protecting staff during a time when morale is already low.

»When you’re facing the threat of being fired — as we all are right now — from a job you really care about, it naturally creates a lot of anxiety. In the current serious situation, no one wants to take part in a meeting where the rector sidesteps questions we have already tried to get answers to,« he says.

According to Rasmus Hartmann-Petersen, the decision to cancel the meeting was unanimous among the section heads, and each one had the backing of their staff.

»It’s not just the section heads. We represent a majority of the staff,« he says.

The heads of section at the Department of Biology acted on their own in deciding to boycott the meeting.

»We haven’t coordinated with other departments at the Faculty of Science. How they choose to handle a potential meeting with the rector is entirely up to them. We’re a large department, and this was our decision,« says Rasmus Hartmann-Petersen.

Meeting cancelled — but the door remains open

Rector David Dreyer Lassen replied to the section heads’ email the same day, confirming that the meeting had been cancelled — in an email which the University Post has also seen.

In a written comment to the University Post, he reiterates parts of the message, and writes that he regrets the decision, but maintains that management has made efforts to engage with staff in multiple forums.

»I regret that the heads of section at the Department of Biology do not wish to go ahead with the department meeting. I want to emphasise that I — and the entire University of Copenhagen management — take employees’ legitimate questions and objections very seriously, and we have tried to address them wherever we have encountered them. This has included forums like the Faculty’s collaboration committee, the staff–management collaboration committee (HSU), the Academic Council, and the University Post, as well as multiple discussions at the university’s Board. I am, of course, still open to visiting the Department of Biology,« the rector writes.

Crisis of trust

Rasmus Hartmann-Petersen sees the cancellation as a necessary signal. According to the section head, however, it is not about closing the door to dialogue — but about sparing staff from yet another experience of not being listened to.

»We’re already so far along in the process, that it’s unlikely anything will change now. But at least we’ve had a chance to express our dissatisfaction,« he says.

Rasmus Hartmann-Petersen admits that the decision to ask the rector not to attend was not taken lightly.

»You can always ask yourself whether we should have chosen a different strategy — like showing up and engaging in dialogue. But we judged that it wouldn’t lead to anything real. We were already busy enough, and it seemed unrealistic that any honest conversation would come out of it,« he says.

Even so, he makes it clear that the decision was carefully considered:

»It’s not that we don’t want dialogue. On the contrary. But dialogue requires both sides to genuinely listen to each other. And we just haven’t seen any willingness for that at this time,« says Rasmus Hartmann-Petersen.

Staff at the Department of Biology and the other departments at the Faculty of Science will be informed whether layoffs are necessary during November.

According to the current plan, notices will be given to affected employees on 20 November.