The union ACV Puls and its internal banker VDK are at a crossroads after the bank knocks on the door of the chief representative of the workers’ union. There will be action this afternoon.
The resignation of the union representative Jan Gossé dates back to Monday. The lousy figures of Gossé, who was an office manager in Waarschoot in East Flanders, are the reason, according to VDK Bank. But according to ACV Puls, VDK Bank has been conducting a smear campaign against Gossé for some time. Furthermore, the federal public service has previously identified many “irregularities” in relation to the social dialogue.
The layoff is high on ACV Puls. This afternoon the union will protest at the VDK Bank headquarters in Ghent. According to Elke Maes, ACV Puls’s general finance coordinator, there is no compelling reason for the dismissal.
Harassment Policy
Maes says VDK Bank has a policy of intimidating union representatives. “Jan wasn’t intimidated by this and he just did the job of him, and he wasn’t thanked for it.” Gossé had also previously filed a bullying complaint with the VDK prevention service, which may not have been appreciated, says Maes.
A proposal to retire early and continue to be paid in return was recently rejected by Gossé. According to Maes, this was followed by the decision to fire him. VDK Bank simply pays Gossé. Gossé’s abrupt resignation has immediate consequences for the VDK office in Waarschoot. Gossé was the only employee there. Customers are now standing in front of a closed door.
Offices closed
VDK was already planning to close the office. Gossé was accused of bad grades. “But if you have to take the union job and you’re the only one in the office, you can’t help but close the doors every now and then, which weighs on the numbers,” says Maes.
The conflict between VDK and ACV Puls is notable because VDK is the main bank of ACV Puls. VDK was founded at the time by the Christian union. Arco, the fallen financial pillar of Movement.net (ACW), has historically also been a shareholder of VDK. The Christian union and the health insurance company are still the majority shareholder of VDK today.
Leen Van den Neste, CEO of VDK Bank, comes from Arco. There are also several people from the Christian organization on the council.
Van den Neste regrets the action of ACV Puls. ‘We check our offices from time to time. Waarschoot’s office has been at the bottom in terms of performance for years. We had three offices in the amalgamated municipality of Lievegem. We are reducing it to two, so that as VDK we are still the best represented bank there. ‘ Van den Neste says there is no conflict with the union. ‘I strive for serenity and good cooperation. But just because someone is a union representative doesn’t mean you don’t have to intervene in case of bad business results. We had a lot of patience in this file. ‘
