Highlights from the Steering Group

 Steering Group meets Left Party member of parliament Sonja Lemke

The PhDnet Steering Group met Sonja Lemke, a member of the opposition in the German Bundestag from the Left Party, to talk about the working conditions of doctoral researchers (3+1 contracts and extensions, increase in salary, need for clarity of timekeeping) and also the need for better leadership accountability, transparent reporting systems, timely resolution, protection for victims, and concrete consequences.
Sonja Lemke and her team were happy to talk, for the first time, to someone who is not from the management but are the student representatives. They assured us that they would bring up the need for a salary increase with the DFG and other relevant parties and also engage with the MPG management to shed light on the number of reported cases, the consequences, etc.
A big shout-out to the Survey Group and their work, thanks to which we were able to substantiate our claims using the figures from the 2024 Survey Report.