Water, Energy, Netherlands

The FNV trade union has negotiated a new agreement in the energy network sector covering around 17,500 employees which will deliver a pay increase of at least 10% over the next 18 months and a minimum wage of €16 an hour. As of 1 January 2024, employees will receive a wage increase of at least 7% but with a minimum of €275 for workers on the lower wage scales. There will be a further increase of 3% next year. Other benefits include six weeks of parental leave on full pay and improvements to early retirement and the social plan on restructuring. In addition, employers will pay a one-off

The FNV trade union has negotiated a new agreement covering workers in the water sector which is now out for approval by members. It provides a 4.25% increase as of 1 January 2024, along with €50 on the full-time salary. There will be a further pay increase of 2.5% in January 2025. This marks an improvement on the employers’ previous offer and follows some extra pressure from the presentation of a workers’ petition. The new salary structure now has a minimum wage of €16 an hour – a key union target. The collective agreement runs until 1 July 2025.

Members of the FNV trade union in energy supply voted 83% in favour of a new 18-month collective agreement that is backdated to 1 July 2023. Wages will increase by 6% on 1 October and full-time workers will also get a lump-sum payment of €1000 gross. There will be a further pay rise of 2% on 1 January 2024, which will see the introduction of a minimum hourly wage of €15 gross for skilled employees (including the 2% increase). There will be another 2% increase on 1 July 2024. Meanwhile, the FNV has negotiated a new two-year agreement for 7000 ambulance staff that will run until 31 January 2025

With a focus on pay and the need to secure an agreement that can help workers deal with the cost-of-living crisis, the FNV trade union has negotiated an overall pay increase of 8% for water board employees but with a flat-rate element that will mean pay rises by 10% for lower paid workers. There is a one-off payment of €1,000 gross in December 2022 and then increases of €125 and 2.5% on salaries in as of 1 January 2023. There will be a further increase of 2.5% on 1 July 2023. There will be other increases on allowances. The structural increases will mean a minimum hourly wage of €14 will apply

After difficult negotiations in the energy production and supply sector the FNV trade union is asking members to vote on a collective agreement that will provide a 4% pay increase from 1 May 2022. The agreement will run for 14 months to 1 July 2023 and includes proposals to discuss how to ensure the agreement will help tackle the major challenges faced by the sector. Key to the discussions will be work pressure, policies on older workers and how to deal with the shortage of technical staff. Meanwhile, there were also challenging negotiations in the maternity sector where a new 18-month

The FNV trade union has negotiated a new collective agreement with the national grid operator TenneT that provides for a 4.3% pay increase over 16 months, backdated to 1 May. The union reports that the negotiations went smoothly, with the employer recognising the need to respond to rising inflation to remain an attractive employer. There is a structural wage increase of 3.1% and a one-off payment of 1.2%. From 2023, TenneT's employees will get 5 May off each year as opposed to enjoying the official holiday only once every five years. The agreement runs from 1 May 2022 to 1 September 2023. In

Negotiators at the FNV trade union secured a better pay offer from employers and workers in network energy companies will get a 2% pay increase from 1 April 2022 as part of an agreement running from 1 May 2021 to 31 December 2022. The agreement includes a commitment to maintain the current social plan and work on a number of other initiatives covering employability, workloads, wellbeing and early retirement.

Workers in energy production and supply companies are set to get a 2.0% pay increase from 1 May following an improved pay offer from the employers (up from 1.25%). The agreement runs from 1 October 2020 to 30 April 2022 and includes a one-off payment of €400 gross for all employees who have been continuously employed in the sector since January 2020. Meanwhile, the FNV trade union reports positive initial talks in the energy network sector where negotiations were due to start on 29 April.

The FNV trade union reports that pay rates for water authority workers are set to increase by EUR 50, backdated to 1 January 2021. There will also be two increases of 0.5% to the individual choice budget (IKB) as of 1 January and 1 July. The union says that on average, this amounts to a 2.05% salary increase. The personal basic budget (PBB) will be increased from EUR 5,000 to at least EUR 6,000 for five years. The IKB and PBB can be used to exchange salary for other benefits such as annual leave. The new agreement also includes provisions on standby duty allowance and parental leave

Negotiations over a new collective agreement to cover energy network companies have yet to make progress 10 months after they first got underway. A trade union demonstration outside the venue for the negotiations highlighted the main demands for a 3.5% pay increase, measures to reduce temporary work and other excessive flexible working and an initiative on sustainable working time. The working time initiative is aimed at older workers and would offer them the chance to work 80% of their normal hours for 90% of normal pay while protecting 100% of their pension entitlement.

Water board employees have voted to accept a new collective agreement that includes a 3.5% pay increase backdated to 1 January this year with a further 3.25% rise as of 1 April 2019. The deal also includes a EUR 500 lump sum payment and changes to the individual choice budget worth a further 0.75% of salary. The individual choice budget allows workers to choose how they take improvements in pay and conditions - for example through increased leave or other benefits. The FNV trade union will also be talking to management about performance-related pay.