Below is a report of our second conversation about the merger. On behalf of De Unie Emanuel Geurts and Harma Pethke are sitting at the table. They do this together, so that they can represent all interests of our members. There are also executives at the talks and works council members of both companies join in.
We will update members from time to time. Emanuel Geurts keeps Aegon members informed. Sometimes things will differ and sometimes the report will be the same. This time, the agenda included the culture of the new organisation, the merger process, the legal framework and the overviews of the employment conditions. We also started traveling. And a presentation was given about the asr culture.
Merge timeline
Manon van der Lely of HR asr and Paul Visser of HR Aegon gave us an explanation of the process of merging the two organizations and the culture trajectory of the new organization. The timeline can be divided into a period up to the closing date (July 1, 2023) in which asr and Aegon are still two separate companies. Only a limited exchange of information is then possible and no integration of activities takes place.
Of course things are well prepared. For example, the selection of senior management is already being done but they are not yet appointed, discussions are being held with us about the merger of employment conditions and the legal merger of employers is being worked out down to the last detail.
In the period from July 1 to October 1, 2023, asr and Aegon are still two separate companies under the asr flag. Exchange of information is then allowed, but no integration of activities takes place yet. From July 1, work will be done on the legal merger as of October 1, 2023 and the transfer of all relevant employees from Aegon. In the period from 1 October 2023 to 2026, asr and Aegon will be one company, everyone will be included in the HR systems and activities will be integrated into the new organization under the direction of the senior management appointed at that time. During this period, there may also be possible reorganisations.
The Culture
It is a fact that mergers can go wrong because of differences in the cultures of the organizations. Although there are many similarities between Aegon and asr, there are also differences. To map this out, a culture survey will be conducted among 500 asr and 500 Aegon employees. They are asked questions about the current culture, desired culture after integration and the perception of the culture of the other. The (intended) senior management is also periodically trained on agility and cultural values for the new organization. These are parts of a culture program for the new organisation. After all, a well-formulated, clear and recognizable desired culture contributes to acceptance and understanding and increases employee involvement and motivation.
Legal framework
Jop Ringeling of the AWVN has given us a lecture on collective labor law by outlining various legal scenarios along which the merger and the merging of employment conditions can proceed. In short, we can do everything at once as of October 1st. That means turning two collective labor agreements into one collective labor agreement. But then we should actually be ready by July 1 to arrange the administrative side of it. That is quite short notice for such an extensive job. Or we split the process into two parts, by only doing what needs to be done before the employer merger and then working on a new collective agreement for the new organization until both collective labor agreements expire on 1 July 2024. In this way, we will first integrate the Aegon colleagues in the asr collective labor agreement. Later, when the collective agreements expire, we can make a collective agreement that will apply to everyone.
The duration of the two social plans is different. Aegon's social plan ends on July 1, 2024 and asr's on January 1, 2025. For the time being, it seems logical to extend the two current social plans at least until July 1, 2024. Whether this actually works in practice remains to be seen. investigate even further.
Overviews of employment conditions
We have received overviews of the terms of employment and pension from asr and Aegon. All terms and conditions of employment are also clustered in the blocks remuneration/allowances/job evaluation, time, mobility, vitality, study and development, staff discounts and insurances, disability, pension, social plan and other. Together we have estimated that the block remuneration, mobility and disability may be the most difficult. For now, the talks about the integration of the employment conditions of the Aegon colleagues will go to the asr collective labor agreement. Next time we will also zoom in more closely on both social plans.
Opinion and contact
Are there any questions or comments? Let the advocate Harma Pethke know at harma.pethke@unie.nl† If you have an individual question or need advice, please contact our Service Center via sc@unie.nl or by phone on 0345-851 963. We are happy to advise you!
