Employment Disputes Committee
De Lage Landen conducted a survey among its employees in the Netherlands that looked
at risks and limitations resulting from working with computers. This survey, in which 57% of
employees participated, revealed that De Lage Landen achieved better scores than the norm
for healthy organisations when it came to ability to work, duties, the workplace and attitude
to work. The scores for pressure of work and working hours were slightly lower than the norm.
Pension funds
Pension provisions for employees of the local Rabobanks, Rabobank Nederland, De Lage
Landen, Obvion, Orbay and the Rabo Real Estate Group are administered by the Rabobank
pension fund. Robeco has its own pension fund. The coverage ratio at year-end 2010 is likely
to be 119% (2009:121.8%). This is slightly higher than the coverage ratio of 111% that had to
be achieved by year-end 2010. Since the autumn of 2007, derivatives contracts have been
used to provide a significant level of protection against falling prices. There was a slight rise in
share prices and corporate bond prices (credits) in 2010, while long-term interest rates fell on
balance. The value of the strategic hedge remained more or less constant. In comparison with
many other pension funds, the Rabobank pension fund is in good shape.
The number of cases handled by the Employment Disputes Committee, which had been rising
for years, finally stabilised in 2010, remaining unchanged at 238. Only a small number (4%)
of the disputes involved requests for a binding decision from the Employment Disputes
Committee. Of these eleven cases, seven eventually resulted in a decision. A total of 20% of
disputes were handled by mediation, either in face-to-face meetings or over the telephone,
and demand for mediation increased from 10% of cases in 2009 to 24% of cases in 2010.
Advice was provided in the remaining 76% of disputes, allowing contact to be limited to
contact between the disputes regulation adviser and the relevant employee. The disputes
related primarily to insecurity about retaining a position, guaranteed work at Rabobank
and the employee's performance. A total of five disputes were reported at De Lage Landen
Nederland, one of which was admissible and subsequently handled. No disputes were
reported at the other subsidiaries.
Whistleblower regulation
Rabobank Nederland and the local Rabobanks have a Regulation on the Internal Reporting
of Malpractice (whistleblower regulation). Under this regulation, an external confidential
contact person has been appointed to whom employees can report malpractices. In 2010,
seven cases were reported to the confidential contact person, which was three fewer than
in 2009. Of these cases, four were passed on to the Whistleblower Regulation Confidential
Committee. In one case, follow-up meetings resulted in a solution and no further measures
were necessary. In the three other cases reported, it was decided, after the confidential contact
person had consulted the employee, that the matter did not need to be dealt with formally by
the Confidential Committee.
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Employees
