In a new update, TU Delft outlines measures to increase social safety. Meanwhile, the representation bodies are still not satisfied about communications, Students & Staff for Safety is once again speaking out, and a ministerial letter was leaked.
(Photo: Justyna Botor)
In its 19 November update (in Dutch), the social safety project organisation lists what has happened in this area for the fourth time (see Monthly updates box below). As a clear new action, the Leidinggeven@TU Delft ‘training module’ stands out. It targets ‘the role that supervisors have in creating a socially safe working climate’. A third group of new supervisors in the support services will undergo the training in November, states the project organisation, and a pilot for new department chairs and research group leaders will start on 29 November.
Further, this month, HR will produce an action plan ‘containing various initiatives to further broaden the feedback culture throughout TU Delft’. Giving feedback is also part of an intended improvement of the results and development cycle (previously known as performance evaluations). The update states that potential improvements are currently being listed.
Data for dialogues
Several subjects from the October update reappear in the November update. These include the website about social safety; the Mindlab performances that started earlier this month; and the Share & Care sessions.
Two dates have been set for the Share & Care sessions under the title ‘Undesirable behaviour for TU Delft staff members’: 29 November and 3 December. These are ‘healing dialogue sessions in which people with similar experiences can share their story so that they feel heard and acknowledged’. “We offer the opportunity to share stories and to be heard and acknowledged”, states the project organisation.
Diversity month
Another returning component is the diversity month, now looking back. The project organisations deem it a success. Given the ongoing internal evaluation with all the co-organisers, when asked, Vasileia Vassou, the Communications Advisor for Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) says that the precise visitors numbers will be issued in December or January. She explains that “For us, success does not lie in the figures, but in the change of approach.”
After receiving feedback from students and staff members, the traditional Diversity & Inclusion week was replaced by an Equity, Diversity & Inclusion month in which internal D&I teams at faculties, student associations and networks organised activities. Further, the character of the events has changed. This time, the workshops opted for talks and activities so that the attendees could immediately apply the knowledge they gained in their studies or work. “This practical side has been introduced for the first time and it is bringing about greater involvement and impacts,” Vassou emphasises.
Contact point
The update on social safety also reports on the status of the social safety contact point that is to be set up (also see the Letter from the Minister leaked box). This should have opened on 1 October, but the representation bodies and the trade unions put on the brakes as they felt that they had not had enough time to make their voices heard. The October update then reported that the contact point would be opened in November, but the November update gives no date. What it does say is that ‘the implementation phase’ will start upon the representation bodies’ agreement.
What was said during the consultation meeting between the representation bodies and the Executive Board on 7 November suggests that November is not feasible. Olivier Sueur, the Interim Manager of the Integrity Office, expressed the hope that the official approval round would be completed by 5 December. Operations could start after that. “We have talked to a lot of different stakeholders over the last few months and slowly but surely feel that we are building a hotline that is going to work. Will it be something that everyone stands behind completely? No. There will always be opposing ideas, but we will try to find the best way forward.” How the hotline will eventually be organised is as yet unclear.
Communications
Communications about social safety was also addressed at the 7 November consultation meeting. The Student Council remains critical. “We have frequently pushed for clear communications for students and would like to see a students newsfeed at the top of Brightspace. What is the status of this?”, asked Merel van Gruijthuijsen (Lijst Bèta). Executive Board representative Hans Hellendoorn assured the students that the subject is getting attention.
The Works Council too was critical about communications concerning social safety and the Mindlab performances. Ronald Kuil, Works Council Chair, says that the communications depend largely on the website. “But people don’t click on it so they don’t see it. We would like to see a more creative approach, a large campaign for example. People should think out of the box.” Sueur, the Integrity Manager, pointed out that deans and directors had received texts which they could use to encourage their staff members to go to the Mindlab. “This was done, but not at a sufficiently wide scale.”
With the support of Marjolein van der Veldt.
Students and Staff for Safety
Students and Staff for Safety has not yet had meetings with the Executive Board and the Supervisory Board, states the pressure group in an update. The group was supposed to meet with the Executive Board on 29 August, but the Executive Board cancelled it on the day itself. The two sides were not in agreement about the conditions for a ‘safe meeting’ and the way in which this could be done transparently. Students and Staff for Safety wanted Delta to attend, but the Executive Board first wanted a familiarisation meeting.
After the cancellation, negotiations continued about a new meeting, says the pressure group. They state that in the meantime the Executive Board has agreed to a third independent party to be present to do the report. An Executive Board spokesperson confirms this. The group also says that talks are ongoing with the Supervisory Board about a meeting.
Letter from the Minister leaked
The internal trade unions at TU Delft have been requesting three measures for a while: a baseline measurement, screening of supervisors, and an independent Central Complaints Desk. The latter seems to be on its way with the contact point taking shape, but what about the other two requests? While they have not been included in the November update, Delta has received some new information.
After an angry response from the national CNV Education union to an investigative article by Delta about the lack of social safety, Minister of Education Eppo Bruins addressed the demands of the trade unions in Delta. He said that he did not deem it necessary that he ensured that TU Delft would introduce them. A baseline measurement would be ‘not opportune’ and the screening of executives would fall under HR policy and thus out of its scope.
However, in a letter that the Minister sent to CNV Education at the beginning of November, he stated something different. He called the three demands ‘understandable measures’. “I assume that I do not need to force this. I have informed the Chair of the Supervisory Board, with whom I recently spoke in connection with current developments (including your letter), accordingly. The Chair said that the Supervisory Board would make sure that these three measures would be dealt with and – even more so – would be incorporated in the Plan for Change.”
Monthly updates
In March 2024, the Inspectorate of Education had determined that there was mismanagement at TU Delft in relation to social safety and the care for employees. Since then, TU Delft has worked on improving this situation, incorporating it in the Plan for Change that the Executive Board submitted to the Inspectorate on 16 May.
The Plan for Change announced monthly progress updates for students and staff members. Since then, there have been four. Not all are easy to find as they have been shared under different names and in different ways. This is a list of what we were able to find.
- Update 1 – Social safety Plan for Change (8 July)
- Update social safety (6 August)
- Social safety: an update (10 October)
- Update Sociale Veiligheid & Integriteit (19 November, no translation available)
So what were the Inspectorate’s findings again?
The Inspectorate of Education investigated transgressive behaviour at TU Delft from December 2022 to November 2023. In the resulting report, the investigators speak of intimidation, racism, sexism, bullying, exclusion, gossiping, social insecurity due to lack of leadership and a culture of fear, among other things. For instance, employees are said to be afraid to voice their opinions and hold each other accountable for behaviour.
The effects among TU Delft employees who have reported to the inspection are often long-lasting and hampering. The inspectorate speaks of psychological and physical health complaints, absence from work and a general feeling of insecurity. Stress, burnout, depression and PTSD, crying and tense home situations also occur, as do illness, vomiting at work, panic attacks and heart palpitations.
The inspectorate reports that TU Delft’s university administration has a lot of information regarding what is happening in terms of social safety, but that they ‘omit to add everything up so as to create a complete picture’. ‘The management’ also ‘does not adequately manage in terms of appropriate measures’. The Inspectorate believes that this is mismanagement.
Read the news and background articles on the Inspectorate’s report in our dossier.
Editor in chief
Saskia Bonger
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