The Office of the Vice President for Teaching and Research Staff of the University of La Laguna (ULL) and the unions with representation in the institution have agreed to call 237 teaching positionsof which 188 will be immediately throughout this year.
In this way, 100% of the places requested will be covered in a consultation process with the university departments to find out their demands for hiring personnel, as reported by the University on Wednesday.
After the 188 places that will be summoned immediately, a second phase will be undertaken depending on the availability of human and financial resources and taking into account the evolution of the legislative context and the negotiations with the Government of the Canary Islands.
The agreement has been signed by the rector, Francisco García, the vice-rector of the area, Alfonso Ruiz, and the union representatives, both from the Company Committee and from the Teaching and Research Staff Board.
Thus, the 188 positions will be broken down into 22 in the assistant category, 19 part-time associate positions of 4 hours; 47 part-time care associates of 3 hours (linked to clinical teaching) and 100 doctor assistant positions.
This call covers a total of 3,183 teaching load credits.
The proposal is subject first of all to its approval by the delegated committee of Teaching and Research Staff of the Governing Council and pending modifications or extensions by the aforementioned collegiate body in its plenary session.
At the signing ceremony, all the union representatives were very satisfied with this agreement which, in their opinion, marks a turning point over what has been granted so far and suggests a better future for the teaching staff at this university.
“It could mean the beginning of a relief,” said Rodrigo Fidel, of the Works Council, “that would put this institution in the right direction to reach and not exceed the maximum of 24 credits established by law.”
In addition, he stressed that this offer of places would imply professional improvement in the teaching career of many teachers who were in precarious mode, he said.
“We have to ensure that the places go to the areas with the greatest needs and that the process is agile and does not take time,” he said.
Luis Cabrera, president of the Board of Teaching and Research Personnel, said for his part that he has found “dialogue in the government team, and the demands of the teaching staff have finally been heard.”
He added that with this call the structural needs of the workforce will be covered, “without yet speaking of new challenges”.
For the future, he stressed that it is necessary to consolidate these contracts and expand the framework of action to new positions.
The rector concluded the meeting by pointing out that in a clear context of uncertainty and constant change, decisions must continue to be made and, therefore, he welcomed this agreement, thanking the union representatives for their fluid collaboration.
“We have to get excited and regain hope of advancing in our mission as a public university”, and he explained that it cannot be that this institution does not offer, for example, a greater number of necessary places in qualifying master’s degrees essential to practice certain professions, advocating for the students to enroll in other private centers, precisely because of a lack of teachers.
Francisco García also pointed out that this call requires an exercise of great responsibility, to ensure that its implementation is carried out as soon as possible.
For all these challenges, the rector of the academic institution requested co-responsibility from the representatives of both the Works Council and the PDI Board: “Let’s continue working together,” he said.
