On March 31, 2023, we would have an introductory meeting with the new CEO of Philips, Roy Jakobs. And that we would resume collective bargaining after this, because Philips final offer has withdrawn.
Roy Jakobs: a lot of confidence in the future of Philips, but no job security
During our conversation with Roy Jakobs, we conveyed to him the concerns of our members about their future at Philips. In addition to the dissatisfaction with the way in which the current reorganization is being carried out, we particularly mentioned the growing uncertainty among the remaining employees about their job security at Philips. We have asked Roy if he can provide an employment guarantee for a number of years in order to offer more security for the employees and peace of mind for the organization. Unfortunately, Roy could not provide that nor the certainty that no new rounds will be needed after the current reorganization. He did indicate that he has sufficient confidence that Philips will survive and grow again.
As a De Unie we regret that Roy Jakobs does not want to translate his confidence in a better future for Philips into action by offering job security for a number of years, so that those who stay can put their shoulders to the wheel with extra motivation.
Concerns about the implementation of the reorganization
We have addressed the general director of Philips Netherlands, Sylvia van Es, about the concerns of the members with regard to the implementation of the reorganisation. She indicated that HRM wants to do everything very carefully and strictly adheres to UWV regulations such as the reflection principle and the Works Councils Act (WOR). Philips does not abuse unique functions that can circumvent the mirroring principle. According to the management of Philips Netherlands, managers who do not comply with these regulations are strongly reprimanded by their HRM staff.
Make yourself heard and if in doubt, ring the bell!
HRM Nederland has asked the unions to immediately report any alarming signals we receive from our members and employees at Philips to the management and to discuss them. Philips will seriously investigate all these cases and work on them. So let us know immediately if you have any doubts about the correct application of a procedure or if you disagree with it. We will continue to closely monitor further developments and the implementation of the reorganization!
Resumption of collective labor agreement negotiations
Immediately after the aforementioned consultation with the CEO of Philips, the collective labor agreement negotiations were restarted. Philips has presented us with a “new” proposal. This is here to read. We have not yet responded in detail to this, because we first want to coordinate our response with the other trade unions (next Wednesday evening). Only then will we give an official response to Philips' proposal. With Philips, we have not yet set a date for the next collective labor agreement round. You can of course let us know your comments on the proposal! We will also send you it previous final offer from Philips, so that you can put it next to the new proposal.
Follow-up process
After next Wednesday, we will inform the members as soon as possible about how we intend to proceed with the collective labor agreement process. Keep following our coverage on the website.
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.
