Social safety is stumbling block in CAO negotiations

Last week, a small group of union members protested in Utrecht against the failure to reach a collective agreement (CAO) for universities. They handed out alarm clocks as a wake-up call to administrators. Trade union FNV calls it an awareness campaign.

The negotiations started in March. They're focusing on salaries, as to be expected, but also on workload and social safety. The latter seems to be a tricky subject. FNV administrator Bernard Koekoek believes administrators are willing to take the issue seriously enough.

"Not taking employees seriously"
Several universities have made the news recently because of employees who behaved inappropriately or harassed others, stresses Koekoek. "Five negotiation rounds are behind us, but they still don’t get that it’s time to take action. In my view, that means they’re not taking their employees seriously.”

The unions want a ban on a "secrecy clause" that keeps misconduct under wraps. They also think that it should be easier for employees to report problems: the structures around the ombuds officer and confidential advisor should be reinforced. 

“We’re open to it”
Do the universities reject this idea? "No", says Ruben Puylaert, spokesperson for Universities of the Netherlands (UNL), the association of Dutch universities. “We’re open to making agreements about it. But the CAO negotiations are still ongoing, so the outcomes are obviously not clear yet.”

He can’t say in which area there’s a difference of opinion between the administrators and the unions. “UNL wants to improve social safety at universities just as much the employee organisations," he states. “It’s unacceptable for staff and students to be confronted with undesirable behaviour.” 

Puylaert adds that the talks between universities and unions are “part of a broader package of measures in the area of social safety” and that the universities are working on a joint plan of action. The Ministry of Education also has a programme on social safety, in which UNL is working together with unions, students and other stakeholders to develop an “integral approach” to social safety.

Temporary contracts
Temporary contracts are another pickle. According to the unions, it’s harder for employees under a temporary contract to speak out against misconduct. If an employee is deemed "annoying", superiors can simply not renew their contract. This is said to play a role in the problems relating to social safety.

The universities are hiring more people permanently, following an administrative agreement with the Ministry of Education. But the elections may get in the way, as the upcoming cabinet wants to rescind this money. What this means for the number of permanent contracts isn’t clear yet. The universities recently announced they are considering taking legal action against those cutbacks.