Netherlands

Members of the FNV trade union have voted 93% in favour of the new collective agreement covering workers in provincial councils that was negotiated in June. There will be two main pay increases of 3% from 1 July 2022 and 4% from 1 January 2023. In addition, backdated to 1 January 2022, there will a €75 increase on pay scales and as from 1 July 2022 there has been a minimum monthly salary of €2,184. There is also a one-off flexibility/homeworking allowance of up to €500 gross based on full-time employment and new arrangements for paid parental leave. The agreement covers the period from 1

The FNV trade union has called on workers to back a wave of wage demands in response to surging inflation. The union is targeting employers to get wage increases that protect against the higher cost of living, including additional increases where pay rises have already been negotiated. It is also calling for permanent contracts for workers stuck in precarious employment. The union demands include a €14-an-hour minimum wage, a 35% tax on profits in line with what workers pay on their income and other tax measures to boost public revenues. At the same time, a consortium of trade unions

The FNV trade union is warning that government funding plans for prison services will have a major negative impact on staff and inmates. A recent report by consultants PwC says that an additional €398 million is needed to adequately finance services over the next 10 years. In response the government says it does not want to invest more than €170 million and so is effectively proposing a cut of €200 million. The FNV argues that the government approach will have serious implications for work pressure and safety. The union says that there have been staff shortages and high workloads for years

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

Trade unions, including the FNV and NU’91, and employers in the care sector have made a joint approach to government to boost funding for the sector by €2.5 billion to address problems of low pay and understaffing. Problems of staff shortages are being felt right across the sector from care for the disabled, care for the elderly to mental health care and to University Medical Centres and hospitals. It is estimated that the current shortfall of 49,000 workers will rise to 117,000 in 2030. There are also major problems with staff turnover and high absenteeism. The ageing of the population will

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

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

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.

Members of the FNV, NU’91 and other unions have endorsed the new collective agreement covering around 190000 workers in disability care that is backdated and runs from 1 October 2021 to 31 January 2024. There is a 2.2% pay rise as from 1 May 2022 but with an €85 minimum increase and with also a commitment to a minimum hourly rate of €13.00. This means a 5% increase for the lowest paid. On 1 May 2023 there will be a further increase of 3.2%. The agreement also provides for hours reductions for older workers to encourage them to stay at work longer and measures to address the needs of women

Following a long campaign and strike action in March, the FNV trade union, along with CNV and FBZ, has negotiated a new agreement covering the 30,000 workers in youth care. This includes a wage increase of 8% percent over three years and a one-off amount of 250 euros. A 2% pay rise will be backdated to January 2021 and 3% applied this year with a further 3% in 2023. There will also be scope for employees to choose when and where they work, while the mileage allowance for travel during work goes up by around a third. There are also important provisions to tackle excessive workloads with

The FNV and NU’91 trade unions have negotiated a two-year collective labour agreement covering 470000 workers in nursing and care homes and home care – the largest agreement in the country. All employees get a 2% pay rise dated from 1 March, with a minimum of €65 euros per month, with an extra 1.25% for the lower salary scales, making it an effective 3.5% increase for the lowest salary scale. On 1 March 2023, there will be a further 3% increase for all workers. The agreement also includes improvements to travel expenses and provisions to allow for reducing workloads and improving schedules

Youth care workers, members of the FNV trade union, took only the second day of strike action ever on 15 March. This is part of their long-running campaign to get a better collective agreement for the 32000 workers in the sector and to address workloads, recruitment and retention. The union argues that overwork and poor pay and conditions are driving workers from the sector and this only increases workloads for those who remain. Alongside better pay and conditions the union is calling for higher funding for the sector and this message was endorsed by the many organisations that joined the

The FNV and other unions representing health staff have negotiated a new agreement covering workers in general practice that will run from the beginning of 2022 to 1 January 2024. In May 2022 there will be a pay increase of 3% for the lower pay scales (1-9) and 2% for those pay scale 10 and above. The end-of-year bonus will be increased by one percentage point to 7.5%. In May 2023 there will be a general pay increase of 2.6% and the end-of-year bonus will be increased to 8.33%. There have been a number of other changes in relation to registration fees and training and further work to address