The Members’ Parliament of the FNV trade union voted on Friday with a narrow majority to approve the crisis plan of temporary supervisors Lodewijk Asscher and Ton Heerts. voted out. The aim of the plan was to make FNV “governable again” after internal conflicts at the top of the union had caused a management crisis earlier this year. To this end, the Members’ Parliament, the highest democratic body of the FNV, would be replaced by a Federal Council. That is not happening now: 46 members voted in favor and 50 against.
Ex-PvdA minister Asscher and former FNV chairman Heerts presented their plans last month to adjust the organizational structure of FNV. They wanted to create a Federal Council to give influence to various sectors, such as Construction, Metal, Port.
Asscher and Heerts also proposed that the board should consist exclusively of paid directors, who would be accountable to the supervisory board. This appoints the board members and the chairman, who is also appointed by the supervisory board. Currently, (paid and unpaid) board members are elected in an election via the Members’ Parliament. The chairman is elected by all members.
Administrative deadlock
Asscher and Heerts were appointed by the Enterprise Chamber as temporary supervisors this summer, after 480 union members filed a case against their own union amid administrative unrest and internal divisions. The Enterprise Chamber gave Asscher and Heerts the mandate to organize elections for both the board and the chairman of FNV. They must also advise on improvements to the internal organization of FNV.
The largest trade union in the Netherlands has been in an administrative impasse since the beginning of this year. Elections for a new government were postponed after people started arguing in the streets. A small interim board led by Dick Koerselman has been at the helm since May.
The Members’ Parliament met on Thursday and Friday. Several MPs say NRC that they have been put under pressure from sectors and the supervisory board to agree to the plans. They are not prepared to abolish themselves, because they believe that the plans of Asscher and Heerts undermine the membership democracy within the union. Also the fact that they put the plans in first different media had to read before they were informed about it themselves, created bad blood.
Former chairmen
In the hope of convincing the Members’ Parliament, Asscher and Heerts mobilized those former chairmen, who wrote a letter to the Members’ Parliament in the run-up to the vote. Former FNV chairmen Lodewijk de Waal, Agnes Jongerius and Han Busker asked the Members’ Parliament to jump over his shadow. They write that the FNV is “stuck in its own democratic structure” and state that Asscher and Heerts’ plans make the union more democratic by giving more influence to FNV directors in sectors.
The last chairman, Tuur Elzinga, does not agree with this. In a separate letter to the Members’ Parliament, he calls it “not a good plan” and predicts that the proposed changes within FNV will lead to “deep divisions”. According to him, “hollow [de plannen] member democracy to a great extent. It mainly shifts and concentrates power among a handful of professional supervisors.”
Next steps
Interim chairman Koerselman says he regrets the outcome of the vote and will continue working for the members of FNV “unabated” until a new plan is in place. Asscher said in a statement that he and Heerts are considering a “next step”. “As long as governance is not adjusted, past patterns threaten to repeat themselves for a new administration. The Netherlands now needs a strong trade union that effectively represents its members,” said the former minister.
When requested, a spokesperson on behalf of Asscher and Heerts arrives NRC It is not yet possible to say what the next steps will consist of, and that the supervisors will first have to deliberate again. She does say that a strong FNV is now needed and that a postponement is not desirable. “Part of the assignment was to ensure that what happened this year cannot be repeated.” That part of the assignment cannot be fulfilled now. In the course of next week, the temporary supervisors will provide more clarity about their further plans.
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