Restructuring, Tax justice, Central government, Netherlands

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 two-year collective agreement covering workers in central government that will run from 1 July. The first pay increase of 2.5% plus an amount of €75 will be paid out in September 2022 but backdated to 1 July. From that date there will also be a minimum hourly wage of €14. There will be a further structural salary increase of 3% on 1 April 2023 and another 1.5% will follow on 1 January 2024. In December 2022 and in April 2023, there will be lump sum payments of €450 (gross), adjusted according to number of weekly working hours. There is a

Negotiations covering around 130,000 civil servants started on 10 May and Marco Ouwehand, the spokesperson for the FNV trade union and chair of EPSU’s National and European Administration Committee has provided some insight into the first steps in the bargaining and the main issues at stake. So far the union side has not put forward a specific claim for a pay rise but it is aiming for compensation for inflation with an emphasis on protecting lower paid workers in particular. One target is ensuring a minimum hourly pay rate of €14. The negotiations will also cover early retirement and measures

The collective agreement covering central government workers expired at the end of March and the trade unions, including the FNV, and government are about to start negotiations over a new agreement. On the employers’ side there is a commitment to discuss pay for civil servants on the lower pay scales, the design of leave arrangements, rosters and workplace measures to address climate change. On the union side the priority will be purchasing power and salaries, along with several other issues including provisions on early retirement and action to reduce workloads.

A new collective agreement covering state workers is now subject to a vote by members. The FNV trade union is pleased with elements of the agreement which it says is better than the previous offer but argues that the final pay offer from the employers is too low. The main elements of the deal include: a 2% wage increase as of 1 July 2021; a one-off payment of €300 in December; a one-off and structural work-from-home allowance; the integration of cleaners into the pay structure and an extra amount for employees on irregular shifts. Union members will now have until the end of the month to

Staff working in medical general practices are set to get a 2% pay increase in a new agreement negotiated by the FNV and other trade unions. There will also be a structural 0.5% addition to the end-of-year bonus and a one-off increase of the same amount. There has also been an agreement on a homeworking allowance but no other significant provisions as the focus was on pay and for a short agreement (12 months to 31 December 2021), taking account of the difficult circumstances created by the pandemic. Meanwhile, central government workers are yet to get a pay offer from the employers who have

After four rounds of bargaining the FNV trade union is still waiting for a concrete offer from the employers in the negotiations covering University Medical Centres. The union has insisted that the offer should include a pay increase for all workers, improvements to the allowance for irregular work, an objective and transparent job evaluation scheme and measures related to pensions and workloads. The FNV is encouraging its members to continue their photo action highlighting the pressure that many workers have been under during the pandemic. Meanwhile, negotiations are also underway in central

Negotiations for a new collective agreement covering the state sector will begin in mid-January and the FNV trade union has surveyed members to identify the main priorities. Over 80% of respondents said that it was important for the union to maintain its proposed claim for a 5% pay increase. The feeling was that this was necessary to cover cost of living increases and recruit and retain staff. Members were also keen on an allowance for working from home or support to cover any costs related to home working. Early retirement is also on the agenda while the FNV will be looking for measures to

Workers in public libraries are set to get a 5% pay increase in a new collective agreement running from 1 July 2020 to 1 July 2021. A 3% pay rise will be backdated to 1 January and a further 2% increase will follow in January 2021. There will also be an overtime bonus for part-time workers, abolition of youth pay rates and limits on use of temporary contracts. However, the additional payment for Sunday work will be reduced and unions are unhappy about limited notice of rosters. Meanwhile unions have rejected a pay offer for central government workers arguing that a 0.7% pay increase and € 225

The FNV trade union reports that all care staff will get a bonus of EUR 1000 net in recognition of their work in coping with the COVID-19 virus. The payment will go to a very broad range of those involved in care across nursing homes, hospitals, ambulance services, disability and rehabilitation services, community and youth care and mental health. Nurses, care workers, cleaners and support staff will all get the payment. The union says that it hopes this will set the scene for negotiations in the autumn to deliver better terms and conditions for care workers and help address staff shortages

Trade unions in the public sector have written to the government, parliament and public sector employers to call for more staff, better pay and conditions and support for quality services - a new direction for the public sector rather than the austerity measures that are already being hinted at. Meanwhile, as hospitals gradually return to normal, the FNV has underlined the importance of ensuring that the collective agreement is properly applied in terms of working time, on-call, rest time and annual leave. The union has also a negotiated a pay deal in social employment services where workers

Trade unions, including FNV and NU'91, have agreed a set of guidelines on the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) for workers in nursing homes and those providing home care. This comes after union concern that existing guidance was unclear and created to confusion at the workplace. The unions and employers are also working together to ensure that there is sufficient PPE available not just to ensure that the guidance is applied in practice but also to provide for those workers who ask for PPE in other circumstances. Meanwhile in the central government sector negotiations on a new

After a range of protest actions and difficult negotiations the FNV and other trade unions are putting forward a new collective agreement covering 118000 civil servants for approval by their members. The agreement will run from 1 January 2018 to July 2020 and include pay increases of 3% on 1 July 2018, 2% on 1 July 2019 and 1% on 1 January 2020. With a one-off payment of EUR 450 on 1 January 2019, the deal is worth around 7%. There are various other measures included that cover employability, options on leave and an individual budget arrangement that allows choice between holidays and bonuses.

Unions and the government have returned to the negotiating table after a series of actions by civil servants showed the strength of feeling among workers for a decent pay rise. The government had offered a pay rise of 7% over three years, below the unions' target of 3.5% over one year. The agreement covering 118000 civil servants expired in December 2017.

The FNV trade union for prison staff has called for an urgent meeting with prison service management to discuss the implications of a new report on staffing, safety and treatment of inmates. The union believes that the report, "Out of Balance", by the Justice and Security Inspectorate provides further evidence of its concerns over excessive workloads and inadequately trained staff. The union now wants the prison service to discuss permanent measures to tackle these problems building on the temporary arrangements that were agreed last year by the justice department and central works council.