Organisation - June 9, 2011

High turnout for Employees' Council elections

The Central Employees' Council has called this result a 'significant improvement'.

There was a big increase in the turnout for the Employees' Council elections, which were held at the end of May. The employees cast their digital votes for nine Employees' Councils, with an average turnout of 56 per cent. Turnout in the previous elections in 2008 was only 39 per cent. A high turnout is a measure of the importance the organization attaches to the Employees' Councils. That is particularly relevant this year as the Executive Board wants to simplify the employee participation system in the coming year.
Even so, Central Employees' Council chairman Cees van Dijk is not entirely satisfied. 'Of course it is a substantial improvement but it needs to be better still. I think turnout should be at least 60 per cent.'
A throw of the dice had to be used to decide the outcome in IJmuiden. Ilona Velzeboer and Christine Röckmann both got ten votes but only one of them could go through. In such a situation, the rules dictate that the outcome should be decided by random chance. A 'three' was thrown, and as Röckmann had chosen the uneven numbers, she will be the one taking up a seat in the Imares Employees' Council in September.