At the end of 2022, trade unions have indicated that they want to gain more background on what exactly the various business units do, what concerns them, what issues are at stake, what exactly do they do, to what extent do the collective labor agreement agreements help in business operations and in the relationship with Staff members. What expectations and concerns do they have about the ASR/Aegon combination?
Periodic consultations
We are the 9e started in January with the Corporate Center (CC) and Jan Willem Weidema, Head of Investor Relations. Jan Willem also fulfills the role of director to the participation council for the CC. He told us what work it is CC conducted. In addition to its regular tasks, the CC is also involved in the unbundling of Aegon Netherlands, preparing for a different supervisor than the DNB if Aegon no longer has an insurance license in the Netherlands, choosing a new building for the head office in the Netherlands, a new Target Operating Model (TOM) and organizing the terms of employment and co-determination for the future CC. Substantively interesting things, but also intensive and with a certain emotion. Colleagues from the CC now know who will stay and who will go to ASR. A grieving process for both groups and in addition to being a challenging process, it also creates uncertainty about what the future will bring for ASR or the future CC. Completely logical and just discuss this with each other in the work meeting. On February 10th, we will talk to Nadine Klokke from Knab about what keeps them busy and what her expectations are.
We also discussed a change in the deductible of the pension scheme as a result of the increase in the minimum wage and the associated state pension. The temporary increase of the travel allowance to the tax-exempt 21 cents per kilometer until 1 July 2023 has also been mentioned. Both points were put forward by the COR. You can find more information about this on the intranet.
Fusion process
Before the Christmas holidays, representatives from Aegon HR and ASR HR discussed the workflows in the merger process. This is in preparation for the approval of the regulators. One of the issues that will receive attention is the culture plan. What are the company cultures like now, what will be the culture of the new organization and how do you achieve it? When the selection process for the new board members is complete, it is expected that this will also give HR a little more direction. An initial inventory of both collective labor agreements, social plans, pension schemes and other employment conditions is now being made. Much more than that is not possible at the moment due to anti-trust legislation. This applies until there is a 'go' on the merger of the various regulators. It is still expected to be clear in July 2023. Earlier would be nice, because after the announcement in October it will be a long wait until July 2023. You still want to move forward and know where you stand.
Month of the union
December 2022 was the month of the union at Aegon. Employees could join a union of their choice for a year at Aegon's expense. Two hundred colleagues at Aegon have seized this moment to join De Unie. Welcome to the club! Together with the other members, we will start next year and involve you in the steps to be taken. Incidentally, another union month will pass in 2023. The time for this is still to be determined in consultation.
Contact
If you have any questions regarding this message, please contact me, Emanuel Geurts at emanuel.geurts@unie.nl or by phone via 06 5252-2074 XNUMX. If you have an individual question or need advice, please contact our service center at sc@unie.nl or by phone via 0345 851-963 XNUMX.
