News from the NWO Central Works Council: introducing Alexandra Buijs
‘As a COR member, one is directly involved in board decisions’
Alexandra Buijs represents NWO-D within the COR NWO. She has been working in NWO Domain Applied and Engineering Sciences as a management assistant for six years and recently joined the office of TKI HTSM (Top Consortia for Knowledge and Innovation for the top sector High-Tech Systems & Materials). ‘It’s only now I’m in the COR that I’ve realised how great the diversity is within the organisation. I also become involved in the processes and decisions of the executive board. One is right at the heart of things in a sense.’
‘What I like and think is important is that the COR NWO represents the interests of everyone within NWO and NWO-I. So we often talk to the executive board. Sometimes the topics apply more specifically to NWO-I, such as the training policy for NWO-I PhD students within the Administrative Unit for Research Groups at Universities (Beheerseenheid Universitaire Werkgroepen, BUW). On these topics, COR members from other parts of the organisation contribute with an open mind and ask critical questions to deepen the discussion. Other topics concern the entire organisation, such as one intranet for the whole of NWO. The COR NWO wants the staff of the institutes and NWO-I PhD students from the BUW to have direct access to it as well. As a user of the Joost intranet, I can provide background information.’
All parts of NWO covered
‘I’ve been in the COR NWO for nearly two years now and find it interesting to see how the organisation operates, including within the institutes. In the COR, we focus on topics that concern the whole of NWO rather than local events, for example within a particular NWO Institute. That’s also the difference between the COR and the local works councils. The interesting thing about being a COR member is that one automatically becomes involved in every part of the organisation. A wide range of different topics are covered within the COR. During this term of office, the Implementation Regulations (UVR) have been a great challenge, especially as they probably have the most direct effect on staff. Next year, we’ll be looking at the UVR again and the COR NWO will once more act as a negotiating partner on behalf of the staff. In addition, we’re firmly committed to our priorities: addressing workload, perspective for personnel, safety first, an eye on privacy and one NWO. Most topics are tackled in smaller COR committees.’
Working with the executive board
‘Within the COR NWO, I’m involved in the ’Standardisation of annual appraisals’ project, which is exploring whether procedures can be harmonised across NWO. I also support the COR’s day-to-day administration by reviewing executive board documents to see if they are relevant to the COR. This helps the COR to respond proactively. At NWO, we are in the fortunate situation that the COR NWO has good contacts with executive board member Caroline Visser, who herself puts a strong emphasis on employee participation. We have useful discussions with the executive board, including during our official meetings. This guarantees positive two-way traffic.’
Newsletter Inside NWO, February 2019
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More information about the NWO Central Works Council (COR NWO)
Visit the COR NWO webpage on the NWO-I website.