On February 23, 2023, at our request, we again had periodic consultations with the DAF management. There had been no periodic consultation for a very long period of time. This was mainly due to corona measures. The following topics were discussed during the consultation.
Business update – Harald Seidel
We met Harald Seidel, the CEO of DAF Trucks, for the first time. He explained the state of affairs within DAF, the logistics world and the latest developments. According to him, the current orders and production volume are going very well, despite the vicissitudes of the corona period of recent years and the war in Ukraine. He is therefore positive about the future and further growth of DAF's market share in Europe.
There is a lot of attention for the further development of Electric Trucks in connection with the zero-emission objective. In doing so, they run into the limitations of the charging infrastructure. To speed up this process, transporters (customers of DAF) in the Netherlands and the rest of Europe need a larger charging infrastructure. DAF is in consultation with the local government about this.
DAF is faced with a shortage of high-tech personnel. For this purpose, international talents are recruited in order to still be able to meet that need. DAF wants to continue to invest in employees in an open and inclusive corporate culture. An external confidential adviser is available in cases where someone needs it.
Home work policy
There is a work from home policy at DAF for people who can work from home. This has been agreed between the works council and the employer. DAF offers the possibility to work from home for a maximum of 2 days a week. This is done in consultation with the manager. There are no agreements about fixed days, daily allowance and making facilities available to enable working from home. On the other hand, the employer makes approximately € 200 available annually through the work-related costs scheme. Employees can decide for themselves how they want to spend this with regard to the facilities for working from home.
An inventory is now being made by the Works Council among home workers about their experience of working from home. We have agreed with the employer that we will discuss the outcome of this at the next periodic consultation. Based on the outcome, we would like to make further agreements about the facilities mentioned above.
ADV scheme for non-production related personnel
As we have informed you before, this arrangement was established between the trade unions and the employer through a very long consultation in the past. Ultimately, the outcome of this was presented to the members of the trade unions. The members of the trade unions rejected this scheme. That was also the outcome of the survey conducted by employers among production-related personnel.
The process of this settlement turned out to have turned out differently than all parties had in mind. Apparently there was not enough involvement of the employees in this process, which meant that there was no support.
Generation pact
149 employees make use of the generation pact scheme. In particular, the 80-90-100 variant (working for 80% at 90% salary and 100% pension accrual).
RVU scheme
So far, 24 applications have been submitted, of which 18 have been completed. Through this scheme, employees can stop working 3 years prior to reaching their WAO age. They receive a monthly amount equal to the current WAO benefit until their retirement age.
Turnover and absenteeism
Fortunately, staff turnover is very low at a few percent, but absenteeism due to illness is higher than the national average (5,7%). Absenteeism at DAF is currently 7,9% and has almost doubled compared to 10 years ago. The upward trend started well before corona. The cause of this has not yet been specifically identified.
This is a brief summary of our first periodic consultation with the employer at DAF. The next meeting is scheduled for April 18, 2023.
If you have any questions regarding this message, you can contact the representative Suat Koetloe via suat.koetloe@unie.nl or call 06-5252 2061.
