Consequences of the Corona lock-down for junior researchers
Due to the lockdown of the university, many junior researchers have had to cancel or postpone field work, experiments, and other planned activities, making them unable to finish their projects in time.
The JRA are of course aware of this situation, and have been in contact with the union Dansk Magisterforening, who have been active in negotiations on behalf of Ph.D. students and junior researchers. On April 28th, a deal was made between Akademikerne (an organization of unions for academics) and Medarbejder- og Kompetencestyrelsen that made it possible to prolong contracts for temporary educational and research positions. You can read more about that here. An extension, however, depends on an application in each individual case.
Currently, DM and others are working to secure the needed financial support for the extensions, such that the funds are not taken from research and teaching in the coming years. In the JRA, we contacted the head and two other members of the Finance Committee about this issue in April, but have as yet not received any replies. We encourage our members to follow the recommendations of DM, which are:
i) to document the consequences that the corona situation has had on your research and the remainder of your employment,
ii) to be in close dialogue with your employer and your union representative about the challenges you face, and the procedures to follow if you want to apply for an extension.