Campus
Statement

Supervisory Board: ‘We are taking our responsibility’

The Supervisory Board says that it is taking its responsibility when it comes to social safety at TU Delft. This is what the members told Delta after the CNV trade union had accused them of not taking action.

(Photo: Justyna Botor)

TU Delft’s Supervisory Board wants ‘to see results too’ and can be ‘approached if things do not progress quickly enough’. This is written in a statement that a TU Delft spokesperson sent to Delta on behalf of the Supervisory Board. Delta had sent a list of questions to the Supervisory Board Chair, Tijo Collot d’Escury, in response to a letter (in Dutch) from the CNV Education union to the Minister of Education Eppo Bruins on social unsafety at TU Delft.

In the letter, the CNV had requested the Minister to dismiss the Executive Board, which only the Supervisory Board can do. The CNV believes that the Supervisory Board is negligent. ‘The “Plan for Change” compiled by the Executive Board is below par, the unions and the Inspectorate of Education had previously determined. And yet the Supervisory Board does not take action’ it wrote.

The reason for the CNV’s judgements was the investigative article that Delta had published on 10 October which showed that the victims of the lack of social safety at TU Delft are often worse off when they report incidents. This prompted the union to conclude in its letter to the Minister that social safety at TU is not improving.

Top priority

In the statement, the Supervisory Board members state that social safety at TU Delft is ‘close to their hearts’ and that they are ‘taking their responsibility properly and conscientiously’. ‘Given our role as the regulatory body, closely following the implementation of the Plan for Change on social safety and integrity is our top priority.’

The Supervisory Board members point out that they have met with the representation bodies, are talking to experts, and are regularly ‘updated by the Social safety project leader (Olivier Sueur) and the portfolio holder in the Executive Board (Tim van der Hagen)’. The Supervisory Board also says that it checks ‘the support for the Executive Board continuously’.

All of this leads the Supervisory Board to conclude that progress is being made in rolling out the plans for change. “We understand that implementing change and making a visible difference takes time. At the same time, it helps when the first steps are taken. And we see these too.’ They have ‘full confidence’ in the Executive Board.

Editor in chief Saskia Bonger

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s.m.bonger@tudelft.nl

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