News from the works councils (October 2024)

News from the COR NWO

 

HFML-FELIX

In June, the COR NWO issued advice about hiring an external adviser to investigate whether the Nijmegen HFML-FELIX magnet lab can be included in the institutes’ portfolio of NWO-I. In his reaction to our advice, the Executive Board representative stated: "During the advisory phase, attention will be paid to the NWO Institutes and we will examine the (financial) risks in relation to the budget. Once the timetable for the advisory phase has been elaborated, this will also be shared with the COR NWO".

In September, the plans acquired more shape and in the first week of October, the COR NWO received the request to provide advice about this intended decision. The works council of Radboud University, which HFML-FELIX is currently part of, also needs to issue advice about this. The Executive Board representative announced in advance that the basic budgets for the nine current NWO Institutes will not change as a consequence of the possible admission of HFML-FELIX to NWO-I.

Implementing Regulations

Delegations from the Executive Board representative and the COR NWO held interim negotiations about the NWO Implementing Regulations (IR) in a pleasant atmosphere. Now, they have come to an agreement, and the IR were modified with effect from 1 September 2024. The COR NWO is satisfied about the outcome achieved, especially the increase in the low reimbursement of kilometres travelled and the more generous amounts made available for purchasing a bicycle under the AVOM (Tailor-made Terms of Employment) regulation. Besides the improvements, it has been agreed that a (pilot) ombudsman will not be appointed yet. However, the Executive Board representative and the COR NWO did agree to appoint a joint workgroup Social Safety. This shall - at least until the next IR negotiations - discuss subjects concerning social safety and advise the Executive Board representative about these. If this leads to changes in the personnel regulations, then the Executive Board representative must submit these to the COR NWO for approval. You can find a complete overview of the changes and the new version of the Implementing Regulations on the NWO-I website. These are valid until 2026, which means that new negotiations will start in mid-2025.

Governance NWO-I

A temporary solution has been established for the governance of NWO-I. Following the departure of Caroline Visser on 1 September 2024, her tasks have been reallocated. The COR NWO was informed about this during the consultative meeting of 10 September. In addition, a workgroup under the leadership of Marcel Levi is busy finding a definitive solution for the NWO-I governance issue. Two members represent the COR NWO as observers in this workgroup. In this way, the works council is involved at an early stage, and when asked, the COR NWO can hopefully issue thorough advice quickly.

News from the GOR NWO-I

 

Organisational change at the NWO-I office

The GOR NWO-I has issued advice about the organisational change at the NWO-I office. It can agree with the direction taken: year plans for each domain that align with the optimal design of NWO-I operations. In the meantime, the Executive Board representative has effected the intended organisational change (including an increase in the number of employees without major changes for the current employees). In its advice, the GOR NWO-I also described opportunities and possibilities for collaboration with the institutes and the establishment/strengthening of different departments within the NWO-I office.

Would you like to know more?

Would you like to know more about the works councils at NWO-I? You can find all the information about the COR NWO and the GOR NWO-I on the NWO-I website.