Netherlands
Collective bargaining over the VVT nursing home and home care agreement will resume on 14 September following informal talks between the unions and employers over the summer period. Both sides think that there is now scope for an agreement with a key point being provisions on age-related working time to improve work-life balance.
Read more at > FNV Abvakabo (NL)
And at > CNV Publieke Zaak (NL)
And at > NU’91 (NL)
The FNV-Abvakabo public services union has begun negotiations covering 460,000 workers in the care and nursing home sector. The union is looking for a 1.5% increase plus improvements to work-life balance. Abavakabo believes working time is a key issue for care sector employees and who want hours to better suit their personal circumstances and an end to any zero-hours contracts. The union demands were formulated following a survey of members at the end of last year. The previous collective agreement expired on 28 February. [Read more at > FNV-Abvakabo (NL)->http://www.abvakabofnv.nl/nieuws
The 360,000 workers in nursing homes and involved in home care will get a 3.25% pay increase from 1 January 2008 and a further increase of 3.0% from 1 March 2009 in a new collective agreement that runs until 1 March 2010. Read more at > ABVAKABO (NL)
25th January will see the first of another series of partial work stoppages by home care workers in the Basque region in protest at poor pay and working conditions. The actions follow similar protests at the end of last year coordinated by the UGT, USO, ELA and LAB trade union organisations. The unions say that companies are not respecting the collective agreement and make no guarantees on hourly payments when they bid for contracts. The unions are also protesting against excessive flexibility and use of temporary contracts and the fact that workers haven't had a pay increase for five years
