Netherlands, Croatia, Belarus, Armenia

Members of the FNV trade union are currently voting on whether to accept a new collective agreement covering central government. The deal includes a €1200 one-off payment for full-time employees to compensate for inflation paid in May this year even before the current agreement expires. On 1 July there will be an 8.5% pay increase plus €50 and an increase in the individual choice budget by 0.13% to 16.50% of the salary. A one-off payment of €800 will follow in November 2024 and a further payment of €350 on 1 July 2025. The one-off payments add up to €2350 (pro rata for part timers). The

The FNV and other trade unions have negotiated a new collective agreement in provincial government which will now be subject to a ballot of members. If approved it will run for 18 months from 1 January 2024 to 30 June 2025. Employees will see an average increase in pay of more than 7.5% in two steps: an increase of €25 or 4.25% from 1 January 2024 and 2.5% from 1 September 2024. As of 1 January 2024, the minimum wage will be €16 gross per hour. There is a range of other changes, including a new internship allowance, changes to pensions and retirement, new procedure relating so social safety

After lengthy negotiations a new public sector pay structure is in place that means significant increases to the coefficients used to calculate salaries for different occupations. Overall public sector workers are set to benefit on average by 13.5% in comparison to pay levels in 2023. Most unions are generally happy with the new system, including the HSSMS-MT nurses’ and health workers’ union which is one of 11 to sign the public sector collective agreement. However, other unions, including teaching unions, are unhappy with the outcome and argue that the new system fails to deliver appropriate

The FNV and NU’91 trade unions have negotiated a new collective agreement covering the 80,000 employees of the University Medical Centres. Salaries will increase by 4% on 1 May 2024, (maximum of €246.24, gross/full-time basis) and on 1 July 2025, by 3% (maximum of €192.06, gross/full-time basis). If inflation in 2025 is significantly higher than 3%, then an additional agreement could be negotiated. There will be a travel allowance of 0.18 per kilometre and the working from home allowance will increase to €2.35 per day and will be automatically adjusted each year to the maximum tax allowance

The FNV and NU’91 trade unions have concluded a new 12-month agreement covering around 7800 employees in the sector but with an effective start date of 1 June 2023. The increase comes in three stages with 3.5% backdated to 1 January and then 3.5% on 1 April and 3% on 1 June. The FNV says that the 10% means that maternity workers are catching up with other groups in the health sector but stressed that there remained a major problem about the unpredictability of work. This is still being discussed with the employers and the unions want action to address the high level of absenteeism due to

Trade unions representing midwives, including the FNV and NU'91, say they are disappointed by the response of the health minister to the urgent letter sent to the minister by the five unions at the end of December. With 1000 vacancies across the country the unions are extremely worried about the capacity of the service to guarantee care for pregnant mothers. The extra work taken on by midwives to cover for the vacant positions means many are dealing with heavy workloads and have had to cutback on holidays. The unions estimate that midwives’ pay is on average 10% below salaries in eldercare. A

A proposed new system of public sector pay has been criticised by unions for failing to provide salary coefficients for different occupations that would be a fair reflection their skills, workloads and responsibilities. The HSSMS-MT health workers’ union has called for proper recognition of nurses’ level of education and have made clear that it feels its members have been less fairly treated than doctors who are taken action against the proposals. The SDLSN union has also expressed concern, particularly on behalf of its members in the Ministry of Justice who took strike action last year over

The FNV trade union was due to begin talks with childcare employers to negotiate a transitional collective agreement to cover the approximately 114,000 employees in the sector, particularly with a view to address the challenges of retaining and attracting staff. The union notes that staff shortages and heavy workloads are leading to high levels of sickness absence and that the numbers leaving the profession increased significantly in 2023. The aim is to secure a temporary agreement for the second six months of 2024 in the lead up to negotiations over a long-term agreement. A recent FNV survey

The FNV trade union is again sounding the alarm over staff shortages in health and social care following the release of official forecasts for the coming decade. The figures show that, on current trends there is a real risk of serious breakdown in the sector which faces an expected shortage of almost 190,000 employees by 2033. The FNV is calling for urgent action, noting that the 5000 shortfall in hospital staff now is set to rise to 27700 in 2033 and that the understaffing exposed by the COVID pandemic will be permanent state of affairs in future. The FNV is calling on the government to

The FNV trade union has negotiated a new agreement in the energy network sector covering around 17,500 employees which will deliver a pay increase of at least 10% over the next 18 months and a minimum wage of €16 an hour. As of 1 January 2024, employees will receive a wage increase of at least 7% but with a minimum of €275 for workers on the lower wage scales. There will be a further increase of 3% next year. Other benefits include six weeks of parental leave on full pay and improvements to early retirement and the social plan on restructuring. In addition, employers will pay a one-off

The SDLSN is calling on the government to change the rules on representativeness for civil service pay negotiations. The union is involved in various working groups that are discussing the new pay structure for the public sector but it is concerned that the current rules on representativeness exclude it, and other trade unions, from the formal negotiations. It argues that only the police trade union meets the representativeness criterion for the main negotiations leaving many areas of the civil service without proper trade union representation as the SDLSN and other unions fall below the

The FNV trade union has negotiated a new agreement covering workers in the water sector which is now out for approval by members. It provides a 4.25% increase as of 1 January 2024, along with €50 on the full-time salary. There will be a further pay increase of 2.5% in January 2025. This marks an improvement on the employers’ previous offer and follows some extra pressure from the presentation of a workers’ petition. The new salary structure now has a minimum wage of €16 an hour – a key union target. The collective agreement runs until 1 July 2025.

Trade unions in municipalities, including the FNV, have negotiated 15-month agreement that runs to 31 March 2025 and provides a 6% pay increase. There will be a 4.75% increase on 1 January followed by 1.25% on 1 October. While most lower paid employees are on €16 or above a few are still on the national minimum wage of €15.92. The FNV is committed to secure a higher minimum wage in local government. The agreement includes an additional day of non-statutory leave as of 1 January 2025, taking the total to eight. While the early retirement scheme is made more accessible, the union is disappointed

The FNV and other trade unions have suspended their industrial action and mobilisations in the youth care sector pending negotiations on the basis of an improved pay offer from the employers. This involves a pay increase of 8% on 1 January 2024 and 1.25% on 1 July 2024 with an additional lump sum of €400. There would then be a 3% increase for 2025 and inflation compensation to a maximum of 2.25%, if inflation is higher than 3%. The minimum wage will rise to €15 per hour and the working-from-home allowance to €3 per day. This compares to the previous offer of a 6.7% increase and additional 2%