Restructuring, Local government
Bargaining stalled in hospitals, further action in municipalities
The FNV and NU’91 trade unions have rejected what the NVZ hospital employers have suddenly claimed is their final offer in the negotiations covering 200,000 health service workers. The offer is for a pay rise of 13% over two years but implemented as 5% in February 2023, 5% in December 2023 and 3% in September 2024. This not only falls below the unions’ call for an immediate 10% increase but FNV and NU’91 also strongly reject the employers’ proposals on allowances related to travel and short-notice shift changes. Members will be consulted over the offer and possible action in response
2.5m public service workers wait for an offer from the employers
The ver.di trade union reports that the first round of bargaining covering 2.5 million employees in federal government and municipalities ended without any proposals from the employers that would address the cost-of-living crisis or staffing shortages. The union reports survey results showing that over 335,000 workers strongly support the union's demands and that the employers need to take this message seriously. Ver.di is demanding a 10.5% pay increase with a minimum of €500 a month in a 12-month agreement. The collective bargaining result will also cover civil servants, judges and soldiers
Public service workers step up action over pay
Thousands of employees of the Waadt/Vaud regional government are involved in strikes and protests in response to the employer’s offer of a pay increase of only 1.4%, one of the lowest offered across the whole of the country. The day of action on 31 January was supported by even more workers than the first one on 23 January and the next strikes and protests are set for 9 February. The president of the regional council has attacked the trade unions and is so far refusing to negotiate.
Firefighters vote for industrial action
Members of the SIPTU union working as retained (part-time) firefighters have voted overwhelmingly for industrial action, including strike action, in protest at the failure to address problems in relation to pay, leave and working time. The union argues that serious recruitment and retention problems are putting extra pressure on existing staff who have also seen a decline in their pay and are finding increasingly difficult to take leave. SIPTU is calling for the introduction of a structure system of pay and conditions.
Federations agree timetable for implementing the state sector agreement
Public service federations, including FeSP-UGT and FSC-CCOO, have taken further steps in implementing the collective agreement covering public administration that covers a wide range of important issues including digitalisation, attracting talent, guaranteeing the 35-hour week, professional classification, partial retirement and equality plans. The second meeting of the committee that monitors implementation of the agreement focused on payment of the additional 1.5% pay rise and the re-establishment of rights cut during the austerity period. There were specific discussions on the timeline to
Union launches industrial action in municipalities
The FNV trade will launch a campaign of industrial action across local government on 24 January in response to the employers’ failure to come up with an improved pay offer. The union is looking for an increase of 12% and general compensation for inflation but the employers offered only an increase of 5% in February 2023 and 3% in April 2024. The action will begin with a two-day stoppage by waste workers in Almere near to Amsterdam. Action will also follow in Tilburg and Rotterdam and at the end of the month in Amsterdam. The collective agreement in the sector covers around 187000 workers.
Important initiative in local government social dialogue
The FSC-CCOO and FeSP-UGT public service federations met with the FEMP local government employers’ organisation on 12 December to agree a framework for negotiations and on setting up an observatory of the public service in local administrations. The trade unions are keen to address a range of issues including training, equality plans, occupational reclassification, digitalisation, job creation, the ageing of the workforce, the improvement and the expansion of services. The aim of the observatory will be to undertake studies and identify good practices in relation to the development of public
Union set to send ultimatum to municipal employers
Negotiations on a new collective labour agreement to cover the 187,000 employees in municipalities sector have been suspended with the FNV trade union planning to send the VNG employers’ organisation an ultimatum over the holiday period to put pressure on them to negotiate. The union has been pushing for a 11.25% pay increase with a minimum increase of €300 a month, a one-off payment of €1,200 euros and the inclusion of the automatic price compensation in the collective agreement in 2024. The employers’ last pay offer was for only 5% as of 1 February 2023 and 3% as of 1 April 2024. The FNV is
Unions organise week of action pay, jobs and funding across public services
The FP-CGIL, UIL-PA and UIL-FPL public service federations are planning a week of action from 12-16 December with protests and strikes around the country in protest at the government’s budget for 2023. The unions argue that the budget fails to provide adequate funding across a range of services with nothing to address the cost-of-living crisis, to cover the renewal of collective agreements, to increase public employment, to end precarious contracts, to improve training and to ensure quality of services from childcare to health and social care and across local and national administration. The