Netherlands

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

Negotiations for a new agreement in local government are set to begin on 22 September and a survey of over 21000 workers (50% union members and 50% non-members) by the FNV and other unions reveals increasing dissatisfaction with pay, particularly among the lower paid. In 2020, 55% of respondents said that they were (very) satisfied with the total income (pay and allowances) but this fell to 42% in 2022 and has now dropped to 39%. Among the lower paid, 35% of employees in scales 1 to 5 are (very) dissatisfied. The survey is part of the preparation and consultation process to make workers aware

The FNV trade union is preparing for negotiations covering maternity workers that are set to begin at the end of September. The union is concerned that salaries in maternity care have been the lowest in the care sector for years and higher pay is important to attract more workers to address staffing shortages. The FNV is aiming for a main increase of 14.3%, based on the inflation rate of October 2022. It argues that pay for maternity nurses has been eroded by inflation with only a 3% wage increase in 2022 and no pay rise at all in 2021. The union is looking to new research to be published

The collective agreement covering 80000 employees in University Medical Centres is due to expire at the end of the year and the FNV trade union has begun consulting workers over the main demands that should feature in the upcoming negotiations. The union is particularly concerned that action is needed to improve conditions for permanent employees and tackle the impact of poor rosters and excessive workloads that lead to absenteeism and high turnover of staff. A central demand will be for pay to increase in line with inflation in January 2024 with an additional payment of €100 a month. The

Members of the FNV trade union have voted by a large majority to endorse the new collective agreement covering 60000 social workers that provides for pay increases totalling 15% over the next two years. The agreement also includes measures to tackle excessive workloads with permanent employees having more control over their work schedule and having precedence over freelancers. Wages increased by 7% on 1 July and there will be two further increases – one of 7% on 1 January 2024 and then one of 4% on 1 July 2024. From 1 January 2024, every permanent employee will receive at least €14 gross per

The 200000 workers covered by the disability care collective agreement are getting a phased pay increase of 10% on top of the 3.2% already paid in May this year, negotiated by the FNV and NU’91 trade unions. There will be two increases of 3% on 1 September and 1 December (both with a €80 minimum) and in 2024, there will be two further increases of 2% in June and December (both with a minimum of €55). The travel allowance will be doubled from 8 cents to 16 cents per kilometer. Meanwhile, after difficult negotiations, unions at the Sanguin blood services non-profit company, including FNV, have

The FNV trade union and the RTL Nieuws broadcaster have published a survey covering nearly 2300 workers in nursing and home care that shows that work is becoming increasingly difficult and has to be done with fewer and fewer colleagues. The union argues that this poses a threat to the quality of care as well as the safety of employees and those they care for. The FNV says that as a result of government policy people are receiving care at home for longer and so by the time they move to a care home they often need more complex care. Waiting lists for care home places have risen from 8000 in 2008

The FNV trade union organised a national action on 25 May in their campaign to secure a 10% pay rise in 2023 for workers who provide support to people with disabilities. This would be in addition to the pay increases that apply in the existing agreement that runs to the end of January 2024. However, the VGN employer’s organisation made only slight changes to its previous offer that would provide for a 10% increase but over two years. The FNV argues that the employers have wasted by making very minor changes to the offer. The union is also disappointed that the 4% pay increase the employer

The FNV trade union has negotiated a 10% pay rise for the 100000 workers in mental health care on top of the pay increases already set in the current collective agreement. Mental health workers themselves had supported the union’s demands by starting a petition that got more than 10000 signatures in a very short space of time. There will be an additional salary increase of 5% in 2023 (minimum €150) on top of the previously agreed 2% (minimum €60). There will be a 2% wage increase (minimum €60) in 2024, followed by an additional 5%, 4% of which is structural (minimum €120) and 1% is one-off and

The FNV is seeking pay rises for workers in both the mental health and eldercare sectors with actions planned for this month. In eldercare, on 12 May, the union has organised an online “talk show” bringing together politicians, employers and workers to discuss how to make the sector more attractive. On 25 May, the FNV will present its pay demands to the employers, Actiz and Zorghuisnl, as part of a national action in Utrecht. Meanwhile, in the mental health sector the union, along with NU’91, is pushing for a pay offer to cover the surge in inflation, although the current collective agreement

The FNV trade union is urging workers in disability care to get involved in a range of actions to support the push for an additional pay rise this year. The collective agreement currently provides for a 3.2% but the union has convinced the VGN employers’ organisation to meet on 9 May to discuss a further increase to help workers cope with the surge in inflation. The FNV wants members to highlight their situation at work and on social media in the lead up the meeting. There will then be a consultation with members on 10 May to decide how to respond to the employers’ offer.

Following consultations with their members, the FNV and NU'91 trade unions have rejected a pay offer from the ActiZ and Zorghuisnl employer organisations in the care sector. The sector, employing 470,000 workers is covered by a collective agreement running from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2023 but negotiations were opened over a salary adjustment because of the surge in inflation. The employers’ offer of a 5% increase for both this year and next year has been rejected by the unions who point to the 10% pay rises that have been awarded in healthcare. They are also unhappy that the employers

Health sector trade unions, including the FNV and NU’91 have secured an improved pay offer from hospital employers following the strike action earlier this month and the threat of further action in April. A general pay rise of 5% will be backdated to 1 February and there will be a further 5% increase on 1 December, with a minimum increase of €150 per month. On 1 June 2024, wages in the lowest salary scales will increase by 5%, with a floor of €150. Workers on higher salary scales will get an additional 2%, plus €180. There is the possibility to re-open negotiations depending on inflation

The FNV and NU’91 unions have called a national day of industrial action across the hospital sector on 16 March when only a Sunday service will be provided. The unions are demanding a 10% pay increase in response to the surge in the cost of living and as one measure to help deal with the staffing crisis. The NU’91 also is also organising a broader campaign on the crisis in care with a demonstration in Utrecht on 9 March where it encouraged everyone to wear black and then to back its “every Tuesday in black” campaign.