Participation council, do something! Or not?
Staff members, parents or students sometimes angrily approach the participation council with the message: do something about it. Do not immediately climb the barricades in case of possible injustice, advises AObconsultant Koos Marinus.
Picture: Type tank
What should we do, one mr asked the AOb when the school went into turmoil after a student was beaten by a teacher. Emotions had run high in the classroom and this continued outside as the school management sent both the teacher and the student home to calm down. This is not in line with the policy, according to a group of parents who engaged the mr.
In such a case, MR members must be aware of their role, says MR consultant Koos Marinus. "As a mr you are not a mediator in individual issues and you are not a mouthpiece for the indignation of the parents. The case itself can possibly go to the complaints committee. As a mr you can decide to put the policy on aggression on the agenda and to to evaluate."
Signals
He and his fellow consultants often see the MR approached as an ombudsman or police officer. "Then the letter comes with the standard annual task and a colleague says: mr, my letter is incorrect. That is also an individual matter that the mr is not about. Such a thing belongs to the union, which represents individual interests."
AObconsultants more often see that the mr is approached as an ombudsman or a police officer
Once again, signals about the implementation of the task policy can lead the MR to take other actions: "You can see it as a reason to examine the entire task policy, or to investigate whether practice corresponds with what is written on paper. One case can be a trigger, but with multiple reports you are stronger."
Another example: the teacher who turned to the MR because he was not classified in salary scale LB: "He simply has to go to the management and then possibly appeal."
Shortcut
Parents and teachers who go to the MR with individual issues often suffer from a fear threshold, Marinus points out. They find it creepy to put their grievances with the management and therefore take a shortcut through the employee participation council. After all, the MR is always open to signals from the rank and file. "As a MR you can therefore also be tempted to do something about individual issues. Employees quickly feel obliged to pick up on signals, but in such cases you are sticking your nose in a wasp's nest. Before you know it, there will be just more friction."
Parents and teachers who approach the mr with individual issues often experience an anxiety threshold
So listen up is his advice on individual issues that come up on the mr's plate. And then help the person concerned to raise the problem in the right place: with the management, the complaints committee, the confidential adviser, the trade union. They have all the expertise in-house to solve such matters.
Are you in the mr at your school or do you want to know more about employee participation? Go to the website AOb Participation.
