Postdoc (forfeit) bonus - the things are not clear and here we explain why

Main highlights of the post (for the rushing people 😆)

This article discusses a situation involving research scholarships and postdoctoral positions at a university. The SEGEL organization, representing students and researchers, had been advocating for fair scholarship adjustments based on the cost of living. The university administration initially failed to raise scholarships according to the consumer price index (CPI), leading to protests.

After negotiations, the university eventually agreed to increase scholarships for the upcoming academic year. However, postdoctoral fellows were excluded from the compensation. The international community raised concerns about this disparity and engaged with university administrators. Despite discussions, the university remained dismissive of the situation and released new scholarship conditions without additional compensation.

SEGEL proposed a "forfeit bonus" as an interim solution for postdocs facing financial challenges. This bonus would be requested from supervisors and was intended to help those in urgent need. While acknowledging the discomfort of asking supervisors for money, SEGEL believed this strategy could provide temporary relief until the October scholarship increase.

The article outlines reasons for considering the bonus strategy, including its collective nature, the non-competitive scholarship situation, and the availability of unused research budget funds. It also encourages international community members to participate in the initiative, noting their potential for influence in addressing the issue, and emphasizing the need for ongoing advocacy and engagement to achieve long-term improvements.

• Bonus for CPI for the postdocs: endorsed by SEGEL, proposed by the researcher to the PI, useful but not mandatory
• New academic year: 10% increase of the postdoc scholarship
• The estimate SEGEL sent to each person is for 3.4% of their yearly scholarship from research or project funds, based on a snapshot from July.

We - as SEGEL - decided to put all of our efforts in increasing the percentage of the scholarship (and there is a lot of information at this link) and keep going protesting and raising our voices, as this constant confrontation is the real counterbalance of a situation that otherwise would have been all in the hands of the bosses (you know what I mean).

You guys, as members of the international community, have the power to change something, by participating in the initiative, but also coming up with ideas and proposal, healthy criticism and things to share.

We are more than happy to welcome any of you and cooperate for a better life in TAU!

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The whole story (for the patient people who want to understand and recap the whole story):

The idea of the bonus of the postdoc came along when this summer, after various discussions between SEGEL representatives and TAU administration officials (i.e. the TAU CEO and the various people responsible for the allotment of the funds), and the discussion we had with the VPs (see previous posts) were frustrating and unfruitful. 

SEGEL was (and still) fight for our right to have a proper scholarship, adjusted to the cost of living. In fact, TAU is the only university in Israel that took the moral oath to do this every year.

In January, SEGEL sent out a letter to catch our attention: 

"The semester is already ending and the university administration still hasn’t raised scholarships according to the consumer price index (CPI) (almost 5%), in violation of its agreement with the Teaching and Research Faculty Organization from 2009.

[...] For us, the situation is clear: the university administration made an agreement which it must respect, and therefore must raise scholarships immediately according to the CPI! We are thousands of research students on scholarship, and without us, the university cannot carry out research. We deserve to make a decent living!"

This thing was not actually new in January. Here there is the official announcement of SEGEL in December (you need to click on "translate page" as it is not written in English).

This protest they raised back then lead to a promising agreement by the end of January: 

"Scholarship amounts will increase by at least 5% for the 2023-24 academic year, for all scholarship recipients, including postdoctoral fellows - whose scholarship amounts have not changed over the past several years. 

The maximum scholarship amount that research students may receive will be raised from 200% to 220%, or from 250% to 275% with the rector’s approval.

Graduate students studying towards a master’s or doctoral degree will receive a one-time compensation for the current academic year, 2022-23. This compensation will amount to approximately 3% of the yearly scholarship amount, the equivalent of 2/3 of the increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) at the beginning of the 2022-23 academic year".

The university back then kept its promise and in May, Masters and PhDs got a compensation, though that it was less than the promised amount (see the entire post on this at this link). 

Noticeably, the post docs were not given any compensation because they are NOT considered students. At this point, as the international community, we prepared a series of issues to discuss on the postdoc situation and we addressed them to the Vice Presidents of the Research and Development, and of the international affairs. We met them. They acknowledge the situation, but the participants in the discussion felt their attitude was dismissive. In parallel, SEGEL interfaced the university administration heads to discuss about the financial struggles of the students and postdocs, with the intention of get a fair increase in the scholarships of all of us. 

In one of the open sessions of  SEGEL meetings, the few scholarship recipients present to the session voted, alongside the SEGEL representative, to aim to the 12.5% minimum increase of the scholarships, the same percentage that was given to the Israeli (workers) wages in this period to cope the inflation.

By July, the TAU commission decided the budget for the next year on the scholarships and the date of the decision was purposely hidden to the rest of the university to avoid any interference or protest. Eventually, the university decided on its own the new conditions, which were released 1-2 weeks ago, after the meeting with the VPs.

According to the University, everyone got already what they deserve and there are no reasons to give extra money to any of the researcher.

By October 2023, there will be an increase of the scholarships as it follows:

• 7% increase for Master students A level
• 5% increase for the majority of the scholars (MSc and PhDs)
• 10% increase for the postdocs

It is not a bad gain: at first the university said 5% to everyone. But it said also "at least" 5%. Thus, it is a good take home for the postdocs, but not a big piece of cake for the rest of us. The percentages here were calculated according to the CPI of the summer, which is stated to be 3.8%, and not to the rest of the year where prices skyrocketed. And they seems to have forgotten that the scholarships needed to be raised since 2022, when the inflation started. 

So, we started from a pit in the ground and we got a ladder that keeps up just above the ground with our head, so that we can breathe. Meanwhile, the postdocs did not received a thing and won't till October. Let's consider that their situation is even more dramatic: it's years that the postdocs scholarships are not competitive nor updated to the cost of life, so these guys started from a lower level of the pit, and I am not even sure they can breathe as the other scholars do. SEGEL, in fact, demanded an increase of 25% for the postdocs.

At this point, the negative answer of the university management led us to formulate a plan B, a forfeit bonus that can be requested from the supervisor, through an official request form.

This bonus was thought for the ones who are really in need of extra money, and otherwise have to wait October. In particular, the most exposed to this situation are in fact the postdocs who are leaving the country now, without any possibility of buffering this situation. 

Once the paperwork and the concept became real, SEGEL offered the possibility to get money to every postdoc, forwarding a letter to all of the people subscribed to the mailing list they possess. 

The form was translated in English and, alongside it, there was a letter of recommendation from SEGEL that endorses and empowers the postdoc to ask for the money from their PI. 

Wait a minute! Should we go to our supervisors to ask for money??? 

Yes, unfortunately. We know that this is not the best option we had, but stuck in this situation we - as SEGEL union - had little time to come up with some ideas and give a try, at least for a few people.

The bonus is a one time payment, it is not so heavy on the budget of the PI (which likely have some leftovers from their annual budget and would go wasted otherwise)! And it is also a manner to protest against the inefficiency of the university.

This bonus is not mandatory, but with some more insistency and the clear explanation of the situation, one PI should be more accommodating. They are responsible for us and our fragile financial situation!

At the same time, we got already some criticism on the fact that going to the PI for asking money is uncomfortable, embarrassing, upsetting, difficult and almost a felony.

And we get it! This is not the best solution, but the only one that came up, with the hope to help people from here to October, when the raise in the scholarship (hopefully) will benefit the majority of us. 

Additionally, this is the first time that SEGEL is trying such strategy, therefore there is a lot to improve: if this initiative works, it's going to be a good precedent for the next occasions such this one. Or in either cases, it will be a memory to recall.

How was the bonus calculated?

The estimate SEGEL sent to each person is for 3.4% of their yearly scholarship from research or project funds, based on a snapshot from July. 

I did not received the email

Please send an email to SEGEL stating that you want to enter the mailing list and add Name, email, ID, faculty, phone number

Send it to segel@segel.org.il

Bottomline

I hope to have described well enough a situation that is complicated and problematic for everyone. On a hand, it looks like that SEGEL abandoned the postdocs to their own destiny; on the other hand, we think that with a "recommendation letter on behalf of SEGEL" requesting money becomes virtually easier. I mean, now you have a very good motivation in your hands and this thing, whether it goes well or not, whether you decide to forward the modules or get over this, still remains a hot topic to debate, and the participation of the PIs is important. 

Why is it still worth trying (if you really want/need):

1) This is not an individual initiative, but a campaign that SEGEL is encouraging and supporting, open to all of the postdocs (International and Israeli ones).

2) The university has no regard to your worth, your skills and expertise. You don't deserve more than what it gave or will give you. Your wellbeing is your problem and depends on the relationship with your PI (this is something suggested also by the VP of the research, when he gave us some comments on "how to choose the PI" and that the university allows increase in the scholarship up to 275%, on the behalf of the PI).

3)One time payment is not a big deal, especially towards the end of the year, when the research budget has still some residual money that has to be spent otherwise goes to the trash. True, it is not the case for everyone.

4)The 10% increase won't be a big deal, though it will help. Maybe you are in the position of needing some more; or maybe you will be set with the incoming increase from October.

What to do?

At this point, everything is possible. There is a new (academic) year at the door and many things that need to be fixed.

We - as SEGEL - decided to put all of our efforts in increasing the percentage of the scholarship (and there is a lot of information at this link) and keep going protesting and raising our voices, as this constant confrontation is the real counterbalance of a situation that otherwise would have been all in the hands of the bosses (you know what I mean).

You guys, as members of the international community, have the power to change something, by participating in the initiative, but also coming up with ideas and proposal, healthy criticism and things to share.

We are more than happy to welcome any of you and cooperate for a better life in TAU!