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CSR 2016 – boskalis
Boskalis reports on employees employed by majority owned entities
(2016: 6,153 employees). More details on the reporting scope can be
found on
page 65About this report. 38% are covered by a Collective
Labor Agreement, including most of our crew and project staff.
Corporate and operational staff are covered by separate agreements
reached in consultation with the employee representation.
Boskalis offers decent working conditions and is committed to freedom
of association and the right to collective bargaining. We endorse
the guidelines of the International Labour Organization (ILO), the
UN Global Compact and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational
Companies in this respect.
EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT
Boskalis engages in close and structural consultation with the
employee representation bodies regarding subjects relevant to
our employees, in accordance with the laws of the countries
where we are based.
Our operations in the Netherlands account for 56% of our
workforce. The dialogue with the Dutch Works Council was once
again open and constructive in 2016. Topics discussed included
the competence management framework and the safety and
financial performance of the company.
In 2016 the Dutch Works Council rendered a positive advice
on the fleet rationalization plan, the joint venture with Kotug,
the acquisition of VolkerWessels’ offshore-related activities
and the cancellation of the voluntary large-company regime.
The Works Council consented to the social plan as a result of
the fleet rationalization plan and the adaption of the Boskalis
pension scheme.
ADAPTING TO THE NEW REALITY
In light of the strongly deteriorated market conditions a fleet
rationalization study was conducted in the first half of 2016.
Because these conditions are expected to persist in the coming
years the decision was taken to adapt the size and composition
Labor practices
of the Boskalis fleet. In the period up to mid-2018 a total of 24
vessels will be taken out of service: ten at Dredging and fourteen
at Offshore Energy. As a result, around 650 jobs will be lost
worldwide in this period, mostly involving crewmembers of the
vessels concerned.
Following a careful process and in close consultation with the
Dutch Works Council a social plan was drawn up, which was
also approved by the majority of the Dutch trade unions.
The most important elements of the social plan are:
the principle of redeployment is leading;
the establishment of a mobility center;
good arrangements should redundancy prove inevitable.
At the end of the year under review more than 250 jobs had
been discontinued. The timing of the remaining workforce
reduction is partly dependent on factors including the current
deployment of vessels and national legislation.
In order to maintain a cost-efficient business proposition we will
be looking at ways of making our crewing model more flexible
and variable without compromising safety and quality. Options
under consideration include a more flexible crew-planning model
whereby crew can be deployed across a pool of vessels and
greater flexibility in crew composition.
In the wake of the fleet rationalization program we will also review
our cost base at head office. A comprehensive cost study will
therefore be conducted in the first half of 2017. While the
objective of this study will be to reduce costs where possible, it will
also take the organization’s growth ambitions into consideration.
The cost review should therefore be seen in the broader context
of our organizational alignment and strategic agenda.
Pension schemes
The Boskalis pension plan, managed by the PGB pension fund,
includes an unconditional indexation for all Boskalis participants
that were employed on 31 December 2014. This unconditional
indexation is also applicable for members of the Board of
Management. The level of indexation was equal to the annual
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