18-4-2013 — /europawire.eu/ — The new Collective Labour Agreement is expected to go into effect on 1 July 2013. The main agreements are: the abolition of variable remuneration, no general wage increase, replacement of the Social Statute by a Social Plan and amendment of the pension scheme. The abolition of variable remuneration will be compensated in part by a wage increase of 1.5% in 2014.
Abolishment of variable remuneration
The abolishment of variable remuneration illustrates that the bank and the trade organisations have taken the critical public opinion on variable remuneration seriously. The abolishment of the variable remuneration will be compensated in part by the following:
Severance plan aimed at mobility
The current social statute will be replaced by a severance plan effective 1 May 2013. This will make it possible to absorb the expected job losses (approximately 6,000 through the end of 2016) in a careful fashion. A new aspect of this severance plan is the ‘active mobility’ phase, which is intended to prevent redundant employees as much as possible. Employees in positions that will be subject to major changes will be encouraged and supported in the process of working on and finding a new job inside or outside the bank throughout this phase. The severance plan will provide clarity on the term of counselling and the conditions for terminating the contract of employment for those employees who nonetheless become redundant after the ‘active mobility’ phase.
Future-proof pension
The amendment of the pension scheme, as part of the new Collective Labour Agreement, is the result of negotiations with the trade organisations and representatives of the employee representation body, the Members’ Council and the Rabobank Retirees Association. The new pension scheme will take effect retroactively on 1 January 2013. This scheme fulfils the new legal requirements, namely a retirement age of 67 and a targeted maximum accrual percentage of 2.00% (currently 2.25%). The existing average pay scheme will be replaced by a so-called ‘defined contribution’ scheme (Collective Defined Contribution) that fixes the upper limit of the costs of the pension scheme for the employer and prevents accounting risks for the bank. The employee will pay a pension premium annually to the Rabobank Pension Fund (RPF) that is linked to a maximum and that does not include a requirement to make supplemental payments if necessary. Indexation of the pension for employees and retirees will depend in future on the pension fund’s coverage ratio. This scheme will do justice in a balanced manner to the interests of both young and old (including retirees) and the interests of employees in different salary scales.
The members of the trade organisations will voice their opinions on the proposed Collective Labour Agreement in the weeks ahead. If the members of the trade organisations give their approval on 3 May 2013, the new Collective Labour Agreement for Rabobank will actually take effect on 1 July 2013.
Note for editors, not for publication:
For further questions:
Marie-Christine Reusken, Rabobank Group spokesperson,
Tel. +31302186822 or e-mail c.m.w.reusken@rn.rabobank.nl
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