On 8 July 2021, employment conditions consultations were again held at NN. We discussed the individual salary increase and the social plan. In addition, developments at NN Group were also discussed.
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Developments
NN recently made two new purchases in the Netherlands. The intermediary function of NNS&I has been strengthened by the acquisition of the insurance intermediary Heinenoord. NNS&I is thus broadening its services with intermediary labels. The company Qare Nederland has been purchased, thereby strengthening HCS's position in occupational health and safety services and social security.
At the start of the collective labor agreement negotiations (almost a year ago), the employer explained NN's strategy. The size of the profitable life portfolio is gradually declining. NN wants to grow in new markets for NN to compensate for the loss of earnings on the life portfolio. The acquisition of Heinenoord and Qare are examples of this. Incidentally, the employees of these companies do not end up at NN. Heinenoord will continue to exist as an independent label, the employees of Qare will go to the work organization of the independent labels HCS.
In the next periodic meeting (September 2021) we will discuss the implications of these developments.
Individual salary increase
Employees who have not yet reached the maximum of their scale are eligible for an annual salary increase. In the past, this individual salary increase was dependent on your assessment. We have adapted this system in the previous collective labor agreement. By agreeing that a standard step of 2,5% will be granted from which the manager can deviate with reasons. We are now evaluating the new system to determine whether we made the right choice three years ago. De Unie has put this topic on the agenda in the context of equal pay. NN has indicated that it considers it important that the salaries of the employees within the scale grow faster.
Social plan
The trade unions have made proposals to make the social plan cheaper. We want to achieve this by limiting the use of the social plan. We want to improve the internal labor market. You can see that NN has had an inflow and outflow that is approximately at the same level for several years now. But you do see a shift in the types of positions and in the business units, some are shrinking structurally, others are growing structurally. You can strengthen the internal labor market, for example, by broadening the definition of a suitable position. As a result, employees are less likely to become redundant. In addition, we also proposed limited financial cuts. In this context, it has been proposed by trade unions to multiply the severance pay by a factor of 1,75 instead of 1,85. And to reduce the maximum severance payment from € 325.000 to € 300.000. Your employer is not enthusiastic about our ideas. So this discussion seems to have stalled.
Continuation
The collective labor agreement will continue in September. We have three new meeting dates:
- 7 September 2021
- 28 September 2021
- October 26, 2021
A pension working group will start in the summer to prepare the terms of employment consultation on this subject.
Contact
Do you have questions? Please contact me. You can reach me by sending an email to: inge.de.vries@unie.nl
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