TU Delft trade unions: ‘Do not go to court’

This is what the unions FNV, AOb, CNV and FBZ conclude, partly from a petition that had been signed 686 times by the time this article was published. In that petition, TU Delft employees and students are asking the university administration not to go to court.

The Executive Board and the Supervisory Board announced on Friday 1 March that the Inspectorate is accusing them of mismanagement, because they allegedly did not properly ensure care for employees. Before employees could even read the report, both boards made it clear to them that they are rejecting the Inspectorate’s investigation methodology and conclusions and therefore “intend” to file a civil lawsuit.

This course of action is causing resentment among employees, the unions conclude from the many staff meetings held on Monday 4 March. There, many TU Delft employees are said to have indicated that they recognise themselves in the assessment of the Education Inspectorate.

Crystal clear report

In their official response, the unions write that the executive board and the supervisory board should not put money into a lawsuit, on top of the amounts already spent to respond to the Inspectorate report. “Too much money has already gone into this kind of nonsense,” said president of the unions Fred Veer. “Put that into good educational projects and social safety instead of reports and lawyers.”

‘The Executive Board is taking on the victim role while TU employees are reporting to our offices crying’

According to the unions, the TU Delft administration should instead accept the report and carry out the resulting instructions. “The inspectorate’s report is crystal clear. We have no reason to assume that the inspectorate has not conducted a proper investigation or that there are inaccuracies in the report,” Veer continued. “The Executive Board is taking on the victim role, while TU Delft employees are reporting to our offices crying. Those people are the real victims.”

Fierce criticism

Delta submitted an interview request to the Executive Board and the Supervisory Board but no response has yet been received. However, the TU Delft spokesperson did respond to the unions’ call. According to him, the Executive Board is ‘always open to signals from the community’ and the administrators will ‘take the call into account in their decision-making’. Although the Executive Board does intend to go to court, this has not yet been officially decided. “The Executive Board is initially focusing on improving on social safety and drawing up an action plan. Only after that, the board members will discuss the pros and cons of going to court.”

In their response, the unions express fierce criticism. For instance, they write “the mismanagement is partly the result of a management vision that places attracting external research and money at the expense of education and employee welfare”. They contrast the study’s high ranking with TU Delft’s second-to-last place in the annual Elsevier study on education quality. According to them, that difference is a sign ‘that despite the great efforts of a staff plagued by workload, TU Delft’s primary activity, education, is not in order’.

The Executive Board “respectfully disagrees”, says the university’s spokesperson. “We dispute the idea that our education is not in order. Moreover, welfare and education are just as important to us as attracting money.”