Australia, Netherlands

After several months of negotiations ABVAKABO FNV and the other unions in the sector (CNV public matter and FBZ) have concluded a new agreement covering child welfare workers. The agreement runs from 1 January to 31 December 2005. The salary increase of 1.5 percent will be paid as 1.0 percent from 1 January 2005 and 0.5 per cent from 1 September. Along with pensions and sick pay there are two other important parts of the agreement covering workloads and employer contributions of at least a sixth of the share of the costs of nursery spaces. [Read more at > ABVAKABO->http://www.fnv.nl/abvakabo

The long-running dispute in the local government sector is over with a new collective agreement signed on 1 September. The agreement, backdated to 1 April 2004 will run until 1 December 2005 and will include a 1% pay increase effective from 1 June 2005 for the 190,000 workers in the sector. ABVAKABO negotiator Peter Wiechmann said that the long period of strike action was not in vain and an agreement wouldn't have been reached without it. Further details of the agreement will be circulated to the epsucob@ network shortly. [Read more at > ABVAKABO->http://www.fnv.nl/abvakabo/renderer.do/menuId

Latest collective bargaining news from the ABVAKABO website provides details on two agreements that stretch into 2007. Childcare workers will get three pay increases during their 16-month agreement which runs from 1 January 2006 to 30 April 2007. The increases are 1% in April 2006, 0.75% in October and then 0.25% in January 2007. In electricity distribution and production there is a longer deal. Although only agreed earlier this month it effectively runs from 1 January 2005 (or 1 April 2005 for the distribution sector) to 1 June 2007. The three pay increases take place in April 2005, April

Unions in the FNV federation have set up a youth network for members under 35. Two of the first initiatives of the network will be to train young members in negotiating improvements in working conditions and in campaigning for the right to be paid the national minimum wage at 18 years of age rather than at the current age of 23. [Read more at >FNV->http://www.fnv.nl/nieuws/renderer.do/menuId/8944/clearState/true/sf/8944/returnPage/8944/itemId/48142/realItemId/48142/pageId/6841/instanceId/8946/] [And in Dutch at >FNV->http://www.fnv.nl/nieuws/renderer.do/menuId/8886/clearState/true/sf/8886

After a lengthy campaign of strikes and demonstrations workers in the disabled care sector have the chance to vote on a new collective agreement. This is a wide-ranging agreement that covers issues such as workloads and quality of work. It runs from 1 January 2005 to 30 April 2007 with pay increases of 1% (December 2005), 1.8% (January 2006) and 1% (January 2007) with a 400 euro lump sum for full-time workers in June 2006. Hospital workers are also being asked to vote on a new 25-month agreement beginning from 1 January 2006 which would see pay increase by 1.75% in April 2006 and by 1.4% in