Transparency & Corruption, Early Childhood Education and Care, Low pay/minimum wages, Netherlands, Moldova, Croatia

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

After four rounds of negotiations, employers in the childcare sector have failed to improve the pay increase offered at the beginning of November – a 10.15% increase over two years. The FNV trade union argues that this is insufficient to protect against inflation and deliver the level of pay that would help address staff shortages. The union claim is for a 12.9% increase over 12 months. At the beginning of November, the unions launched a petition, now signed over 15,000 times, to make it clear to employers that a decent wage increase is desperately needed to keep the sector attractive to work

The FNV trade union reports that the employers have stalled the negotiations in the childcare sector after three rounds of bargaining. The union says that while the employers acknowledge the major problems of overwork and understaffing they are not willing to take the urgent action required to tackle them. The FNV wants a one-year agreement covering 2023 that will deliver a pay rise compensating for inflation plus €100 a month, a minimum hourly wage of €14.00 and an increase in the end-of-year bonus from 3% to 5% of salary. It has also proposed improvements in work-life balance in relation to

Members of the FNV, NU’91 and other unions have endorsed the new collective agreement covering around 190000 workers in disability care that is backdated and runs from 1 October 2021 to 31 January 2024. There is a 2.2% pay rise as from 1 May 2022 but with an €85 minimum increase and with also a commitment to a minimum hourly rate of €13.00. This means a 5% increase for the lowest paid. On 1 May 2023 there will be a further increase of 3.2%. The agreement also provides for hours reductions for older workers to encourage them to stay at work longer and measures to address the needs of women

Members of the FNV trade union are in the process of voting on whether to support the agreement covering the municipal sector that was negotiated last month. The agreement provides for a 1.5% pay increase from 1 December 2021 and a further increase of 2.4% from 1 April 2022. There will also be a €1200 lump sum paid, €900 of which is pensionable and €300 of which reflects a COVID bonus. Also the agreement commits municipalities to guarantee a €14 an hour minimum wage from 1 January 2022. There are several other elements to the agreement including a working-from-home allowance and measures

On 14 September 660 childcare facilities across the country were hit by national strike action coordinated by the FNV trade union. This is part of a campaign, running since July, that has involved regional stoppages as well as an earlier day of national strike action. The union wants the employers to negotiate a collective agreement that includes concrete measures to tackle excessive workloads and unpredictable working hours. The FNV says that the employers are looking to the government for solutions but argues that there are practical measures that the employers could take such as hiring

The FNV trade union’s campaign for urgent action on workloads in childcare has been stepped up with some regional mobilisations cancelled in order to concentrate on a national strike on 8 July. The union is angry that calls for increased staffing and reduced numbers of children per worker have fallen on deaf ears and the employers have offered nothing to address the problem.

Following a national day of action on 18 June, workers in childcare, playgroups and after-school care will begin a campaign of industrial action in the Netherlands from 23 June. Different workplaces will be targeted at different times and various forms of strikes and other industrial action will be organised. The action is over excessive workloads and has been launched following the failure of the BMK and BK employer organisations to respond to an ultimatum from the FNV trade union. The union is warning that employees’ wellbeing is under threat and the quality of service will be compromised if

The FNV trade union is involved in two major campaigns. The first, running from 1-5 September, is a nationwide action across health and social care in response to COVID-19. The union wants to see proper recognition of the role played by health and social care workers and is calling for better pay and working conditions, reduced workloads and more autonomy for workers. The FNV is underlining the importance of preparing for a second wave of the pandemic and argues that action is needed to make the health and care sectors more attractive to increase recruitment. Meanwhile, the union is running a

A telephone hotline set up by the FNV public services union in early November was used by over 500 people, many of whom revealed disturbing information on the situation facing trainees in the care sector. There was evidence of trainees used effectively as full-time employees to cover for holidays and sickness, being required to carry out tasks on their own for which they had not been fully trained and having responsibility for other trainees and temporary workers. There were also indications of inadequate supervision and supervisors lacking time to provide adequate support. The FNV has

Campaigning by the youth section of the FNV trade union has paid off with implementation of a change in the national minimum wage. The adult rate will now be applied from 21 rather than 22. This means 21-year-olds will benefit from the new EUR 9,44 rate, a 45% increase on the previous rate, which was only EUR 6,49. While being delighted with the result the union's youth section is determined to keep up the fight to get right of the other age-related rates so that the full adult rate applies from 18.