Around 50 researchers protested today in Aveiro, where the Science 2023 Meeting is being held with the presence of the Prime Minister, against the lack of answers from the Government regarding the regularization of the bonds of these professionals.
The protest organized by the National Teachers Federation (Fenprof), together with organizations and groups of researchers from all over the country, took place near the rectory of the University of Aveiro (UA).
“Contests more contests, we can’t take it anymore. We want the same as other professionals” or “Government listens, science is fighting” were some of the slogans heard on site
The posters read “We want excellence, treat us with decency” or “Precariousness kills science”.
In statements to Lusa, Miguel Viegas, from Fenprof, explained that the goal of this action is to claim that researchers with precarious contracts for several years be integrated in the career.
“Many of them are hired by project and when the project ends they don’t know what their future is. Many of them were hired for six years, which are ending, and they can’t be condemned to another cycle of precariousness,” said the union leader.
The protesters are demanding that “mechanisms” be found to transfer funds to universities so that they can integrate researchers into their careers and give them “a stable contract.
According to Miguel Viegas, there are about four thousand researchers in precarious situations throughout the country, which corresponds to about 90% of these professionals.
João Moreira, from the National Union of Higher Education, said that “there is no sector in the country that has this number of precarious workers”, adding that “these people have major mental health problems, because they live in continuous uncertainty”.
“It is not reasonable that people should not be able to develop a life plan and be able to have the same expectation that any citizen of this country has. Scientific research cannot continue to live outside the law of the country, outside the norm of the country. These people want to have lives, they have the right to have lives. So you have to solve this problem quickly,” he concluded.
Promoted by the Foundation for Science and Technology, in collaboration with Ciência Viva and the University of Aveiro, the Science 2023 Meeting, which takes place for the first time outside Lisbon, takes place from July 5 to 7, with the theme “Science and Ocean beyond the horizon.
In addition to António Costa, the meeting, which brings together experts and researchers from different scientific areas, will be attended by the Ministers of Science, Technology and Higher Education, of the Environment and Climate Action, of the Economy and the Sea, and of Agriculture and Food, and will be closed by the President of the Republic.
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