The nine rectors of the Andalusian public universities have warned that they will resort to the courts if the Junta de Andalucía does not pay the 50 million euros that it “owes” them in 2024. After the union protests of the last week, the Association of Public Universities of Andalusia (AUPA) has called a press conference to express the “unanimous” concern of the agents that make up the Andalusian public university system in the face of “the serious non-compliance” by the regional government in terms of financing.
Supported by all the public rectors (with the exception of the International University of Andalusia–UNIA), the president of AUPA, Francisco Oliva, has asserted that “we are going to do everything possible, everything in our power, to demand that Andalusian legislation and the agreements signed by the University Department during this same year are complied with without ruling out any type of action”, alluding to the “legal avenues” that are available to them.
“The opposite would be to assume a unilateral cut in the financing of the public university for a value of almost 25 million euros per year in structural financing concepts for the universities,” said Pablo de Olavide, also rector of the University, who recalled that to that figure –corresponding to full compliance with the financing model approved in September 2023 by the Governing Council– another 25 million must be added relating to salary supplements for staff working in universities, signed by the advisor of the branch, José Carlos Gómez Villamandos, at the negotiating table six months ago. Hence the 50 million that public universities are demanding just a few days before the end of the year.
The 21 million offered by the Board are “insufficient”
The public denunciation of the “non-compliance” in terms of university financing has taken place 24 hours before the debate on the state of the community is held where the president of the Junta de Andalucía, Juan Manuel Moreno, has to be held accountable before Parliament Andalusian for the management of its government during the last year.
Precisely, given the “urgency to resolve this situation before the end of the year”, the representatives of the Andalusian public universities have addressed the Andalusian president to expressly ask for his “personal involvement” in “enforcing the model.” of current financing and what was agreed between the University Department, the union organizations and the public universities.”
Following complaints from university institutions and unions, the department headed by Villamandos has proposed a transfer of 21 million euros to the rectors. A solution that those responsible for university institutions call “insufficient” and reject because “they do not satisfy” their demands.
Firstly, because, from a quantitative point of view, “it is far from complying with what was agreed, since there would still be more than 24 million euros missing of the almost 50 that are owed to us right now to comply with the financing model and the agreements at the negotiating table.” And second – the AUPA spokesperson has explained – because the Board thus offers a “non-consolidable” payment, that is, “it is not immediately incorporated into the financial envelope of the Andalusian university system, which is why it is useless for the purposes of complying with any of the agreements” that are pending fulfillment.
In other words, with those 21 million they will only be able to pay the remuneration supplements this year 2024, but not in successive years, since that amount does not appear in the draft Budget of the Government of Andalusia for 2025. For this reason, the rectors consider that “it is neither reasonable nor advisable to pay supplements that are consolidated in the workers’ payrolls forever, with financing that has an expiration date of December 2024”, as the president of the public universities has stated during his appearance at the Hispalense headquarters.
“The amounts owed to us by the Ministry are, by definition, consolidateable,” claimed Oliva, with the consent of the rest of the rectors of the public universities from all the provinces who moved to Seville this Tuesday. Consolidable means that they must be entered “annually and recurrently as the financial envelope of the university system to respond to all our structural expenses.” Hence they conclude that “the solution proposed by the Ministry does not serve to comply with the standards approved by the Andalusian Government itself, nor with the signed agreements.”
The debt of the Board claimed by the rectors
The 50 million claimed by the public rectors respond to the sum of two amounts to which the Ministry committed with its signature months ago. On the one hand, on September 19, 2023, the regional government approved the new financing model for Andalusian public universities for the period 2023-2027. This financing framework, published in the BOJA Days later, it included a leveling item (to correct inequalities between universities and guarantee homogeneous quality in the university system) and a safeguard clause (aimed at ensuring the financial stability of the system, covering increases in the salaries of public sector personnel. that are established).
The University Department still needs to transfer nearly 25 million euros to the public university system to fully comply with this approved financing model. This was recognized by the Andalusian Government itself during an Andalusian Council of Universities held on May 22, which resulted in the signed commitment to increase the budget distribution paid up to that moment, adding the 16.8 million euros corresponding to the leveling, and the 7.5 million derived from the safeguard clause (on account of the 0.5% salary increase relative to 2023). Altogether, close to 25 million.
The other half of those 50 million that are demanded respond (20 million) to the regional complements of the teaching and research staff (PDI) and (5.9 million) to the evaluation of the performance of the horizontal career of the technical, management and of administration and services (PTGAS). Additional financing expenses for public universities that the sector’s counselor promised to cover in an agreement signed on June 25 by all parties at the negotiating table (Ministry, rectors and unions).
Meetings and demonstrations
Hours after the rectors’ appearance, the spokesperson for the Andalusian Executive, Carolina España, said she did not understand “the unfair claims of the universities” in relation to financial resources. In the press conference after the Government Council, the Minister of Finance also defended that the Moreno Government “has transferred more financing than ever” to public universities. And he has pointed out as an example the extraordinary loan of 48.5 million euros granted a few weeks ago to the University of Malaga to save it from an “unprecedented” crisis.
Spain has also referred to the “additional” 21 million euros that the general secretary of Universities of the Junta de Andalucía, Ramón Herrera, has confirmed that next Thursday will be injected into the Andalusian public universities “so that they can face the payment.” of the accessories”.
Although the public universities have appreciated that “progress is being made” and that “solutions are beginning to be sought and provided” by the autonomous administration, they have insisted that what is offered is “still far from the Junta de Andalucía fulfilling its obligations.” with public universities” just fifteen days before the end of the year.
At this point, the rector of Pablo de Olavide has warned that these “serious breaches” of the agreements signed by the Board “jeopardize the financial sustainability” of public universities. So much so that those responsible for academic institutions warn that the absence of those 50 million “could have very negative consequences for our accounts, our staff and our personnel policies.”
Regardless of the calendar of mobilizations of the unions, which contemplates a general strike for next Friday the 13th, the rectors of the Andalusian public universities now have their hopes pinned on next Thursday, the date on which the programming commission for the strike has been convened. Andalusian Council of Universities (CAU) where “we hope and wish to be able to reach an agreement in which these two demands become a reality, which are summarized in complying with the financing model and complying with the agreement reached at the negotiation table.” “We do not ask for anything more, and nothing less,” Oliva defended on behalf of the Andalusian public university system.
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