Management assistants at TU Delft want to earn as much as newly hired colleagues. That’s why on Tuesday morning they handed a petition—signed 405 times—to the Executive Board. “As individuals, we haven’t succeeded in getting a pay raise, but as a group we’re stronger.”
The group of 80 people consisted not only of management assistants, but also other TU employees. (Photos: Sinan Keleştemur)
‘Our planning is correct, now our pay needs to be too’ in bright red waterproof marker, ‘Equal tasks, equal pay’ in bold chocolate‑letter style. Armed with banners, eighty TU employees crossed the short distance from the faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science to the Executive Board (CvB) offices Tuesday morning. They presented a petition from the FNV union to CvB member Nick Bos and HR director Annemieke Zonneveld. They also requested a meeting with the Executive Board, which should take place within a few weeks.
About 170 of those signatories are management assistants. No surprise, since the petition calls for a reevaluation of their salaries. According to the FNV union, management assistants are consistently undervalued and unequally paid. “Many management assistants have worked here for decades and remain stuck in pay scale 7, even though their tasks have become much more complex,” explains FNV organiser Martine Doppen. “At the same time, new management assistants are being hired in scale 8 or with the prospect of scale 8. That’s unfair, because their tasks are the same as those of long‑serving colleagues.”
Knowledge of HR and finances
Before the group handed over the signatures, TU employee Romy Fischer delivered a speech. She is a management assistant at the Architecture and the Built Environment department of Urbanism and has worked at TU for about 13 years. She explains how her work has changed: “In the past, our work mostly consisted of sending emails, managing calendars, and scheduling meetings. But nowadays we also need substantial knowledge of finances, HR, GDPR, and all kinds of other matters. For example, I create purchase orders and support PhD candidates by organising everything related to their go/no‑go moment.”
She says she loves her job and hopes to “continue working at TU for a long time,” but she is frustrated by the pay gap compared to new management assistants. “We cannot accept this inequality,” she says. “It’s time for a serious review of our job profiles and corresponding salaries.”
Proving yourself after 25 years
According to Doppen, many management assistants have tried to raise the issue over the past months and years—but without success. Fischer sees the same around her. “A management assistant who has worked here for about 25 years in scale 7 asked for a pay increase after seeing several TU job postings for scale 8. She was told she first needed to prove herself. I don’t think that’s an acceptable way to treat people who have worked for you for so long.”
Doppen is pleased with the turnout and with the 405 signatures. “As individuals, we haven’t succeeded in changing anything yet, but as a group, we are stronger. This clearly signals that the issue is alive among both management assistants and many other TU employees.”
Executive Board member and vice president operations Nick Bos accepted the petition. He said he was not aware of the issue but was impressed by the signal the petition sends. According to a TU spokesperson, Bos will study the matter and discuss it in the Local Consultation—the monthly meeting with the three trade unions represented at TU. “Depending on that consultation and the findings, it is conceivable that a delegation of management assistants will be invited for further discussion,” Bos said via the spokesperson.
Do you have a question or comment about this article?
a.m.debruijn@tudelft.nl
Comments are closed.