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Transparent on the lecture hall building on the Hamburg campus.
Photo: TV Stud HH
The winter semester 2021/2022 is not even a week old, but the first students are already standing in front of closed doors.
At the University of Hamburg, an association of trade unions, Asta and employees has occupied a lecture hall in the social economics department.
According to the organizers, around 80 people came to the rally on the first day of the strike - at the same time as the first day of face-to-face lectures after three semesters of online teaching.
"We are not ready to go back to business as usual after a year and a half of the pandemic," said Marvin Hopp, spokesman for the strikers, to SPIEGEL.
Too many topics were left behind for that.
In addition to the protests against the precarious working conditions in the academic staff, which became known under the catchphrase #ichbinhanna, the strike is directed against the miserable financial situation of the students during and after the pandemic.
"Many young people have lost their part-time jobs as a result of Corona," says Hopp.
In an expensive city like Hamburg, the majority of students are dependent on income from part-time jobs.
"We therefore demand more student loans for everyone."
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In addition, the alliance calls for a collective agreement for student employees at universities.
"Student and academic assistants keep the university going," says Hopp.
The federal states' collective bargaining round began last Friday.
Although many students were looking forward to the start of the face-to-face semester, they showed a lot of understanding for the strikers, says Hopp.
"Corona has left us no room to organize protests effectively - that's why we have to do it now."
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