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Student sits at workstation and looks at laptop. © Aliona Kardash​/​TU Dortmund
Pay grades, abuse of power and work time recording

Report from the General Meeting of Academic Staff in July 2026

© PRwiss TU Dortmund
The meeting for scientific and artistic employees focused on the Staff Council’s work over the past year as well as on relevant developments at TU Dortmund University.

This year's meeting of scientific and artistic staff took place in a hybrid format on 1 July 2026, with around 160 colleagues in attendance. In her brief report, Academic Staff Council chair Anja Szypulski addressed, amongst other issues, the current status of the implementation of permanent post schemes in the faculties (which until now has led to a total of around 80 permanent posts), the principles of the drafting of contracts as secured by the Staff Council (PRwiss) as well as inclusion at TU Dortmund University. These topics had been identified by colleagues in a survey conducted prior to the meeting. 

Uta Spörer, spokesperson for the Finance Committee, presented the current financial situation of the university and Sigrun Rottmann drew attention to the next Forum on the Abuse of Power, which will take place on 2 December 2026. All members of TU Dortmund University are invited to attend and join the discussion. She also outlined the Staff Council's wide-ranging activities in this area, including networking with other key stakehopders at the university. 

One issue that the PRwiss has been addressing intensively for some time is the pay grading of postdocs (EG13/14). Anja Szypulski outlined the background and the current status of the process. The approach to the issue of reclassification varies greatly at TU Dortmund and generally depends on the financial situation of the respective faculty of chair, the line manager and/or the academic culture of the discipline. The procedure is often very opaque for those affected. PRwiss aims to ensur that collective bargaining law is implemented transparently and equitably. This report was followed by questions regarding the implementation and an in-depth discussion about the tensions between promotions to a higher pay grade and the university's increasingly tight budgets. 

Uta Spörer then provided information on the planned introduction, probably later this year, of a work time recording system for academic staff. Work time recording is required by law, and the State Government of North Rhine Westphalia wants all universities to introduce recording systems as soon as possible. The discussion showed that many colleagues view the introduction with scepticism. They fear disadvantages for the organisation of their work and the flexibility that they have enjoyed to date. The PRwiss takes these concerns serioulsy and in ongoing discussions with the HR Department aims to ensure that the recording system is designed in the interest of staff and that it will serve its actual purpose, which is the protection of health. A (digital) tool für recording working hours has been developed by the ITMC; the specific details are currently being negotiated. 

The PRwiss slides shown during the meeting can be found here (English version).

 

 

 

 

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