Meeting at Hoenderloo College: parents and staff furious
The unions will hold an extensive staff meeting at Hoenderloo College this Friday. The education staff and the parents are furious about the school closure that is now scheduled for August 1 this year. “It is in and in sad that this is how it goes,” says AObdistrict director Philippe Abbing.
Picture: Type tank
The measure is full for the unions. "After sixteen times negotiating a decent social plan, we are not getting any further," says Abbing. Pluryn's offer - the employer to which Hoenderloo College falls - is 'minimal'. “People have waited so long that coaching from work-to-work is hardly possible, because the summer vacation is already just around the corner. The staff is in huge uncertainty. We cannot agree with the social plan, because it is many times less than the transition payment for most employees. ”
After negotiating a decent social plan sixteen times, we can't get any further
On the Hoenderloo College and the Deelen location have more than two hundred students and more than seventy employees. It is the education branch within Pluryn, which manages boarding schools for youth care and other care institutions. At the school there are students with various problems, including autism, who usually do not live at home and who receive specialist care at Hoenderloo College. Due to dire financial problems at Pluryn, the school and the boarding schools in Hoenderloo and Deelen are now closed.
Air
All-in February this year there was an action by the education staff against the intended closure. They then put work down for a day. A few months later, Pluryn director Karel Verweij announced that the closure was nevertheless was delayed. It would provide more air for some of the students that are difficult to find a new place and for the staff. In a letter to the mr, Verweij wrote: 'The closure of the Hoenderloo College will take place no later than 1 August 2021 or earlier than necessary and possible.' According to Pluryn, the decision offers teaching staff 'a significantly better perspective'.
Accomplished fact
Abbing: “That air is needed, this concerns a special group of students. You don't just move them from school A to school B. The care must be coordinated and they have to get used to it. Finding a suitable school is difficult. Parents are now actually presented with a fait accompli. That is sad. Just like the employees who do not know where they stand. You have to solve something like that humanely and neatly and not wait until there is no more room. ”
Employees don't know where they stand. You have to solve something like that humanely and neatly
No trust
The participation council has given up its confidence in the board. The council informs you by letter that the educational quality is not 'guaranteed'. According to the council, the school cannot be closed at all, because there is a duty of care towards pupils and not all of them have yet found a suitable new place. 'We as MR take our task and responsibility seriously. Due to the lack of concrete and realistic plans, we do not have the impression that we are being taken seriously by you, 'said the council.
Staff meeting
The unions will therefore hold a meeting on Friday, June 19 from 10.00:12.00 to XNUMX:XNUMX in Hoenderloo. Employees and parents then gather during school hours to discuss how things should proceed. Should the board fail to come to an understanding, legal proceedings to assist employees are the next step, according to Abbing. "You can't treat each other like that."
Pluryn was previously in the news through research by Follow the Money en Dutch news program EenVandaag. They investigated that the closure was not 'inevitable' at all, but mainly intended to sell the properties that are worth tens of millions. Pluryn then said do not recognize themselves in the reports and that they are making agreements with all parents for follow-up care. 'Pluryn takes its responsibility and sticks to its agreements. We are in constant dialogue with the mr, the unions and other stakeholders. All decisions were taken unanimously by the Board of Directors with the approval of the Supervisory Board. '
I hope that pressure will be put on the kettle from many sides
Hidden agenda
Abbing also thinks there are hidden agendas. "Why else would you want to deal with this so quickly at the expense of students and staff?" So far, the board has been struggling in the final decision-making, according to the AObdistrict manager. "I hope that pressure will be put on the kettle from many sides."
De AOb stands up for the teaching staff. Together we are strong!
