Brazil, Netherlands

Anger is building among civil servants after four years without a re-negotiated collective agreement. The last agreement ran until 1 January 2011 and talks with the government resumed in May this year but the four trade unions involved decided to pull out. They are particularly angry that the civil service minister is blocking a change to pension payments that would have meant a 0.8% increase to salaries from 1 January 2015. Earlier in the month unions had organised protests around over the long-delayed collective agreement. [Read more at > FNV Abvakabo (NL)->http://www.abvakabofnv.nl/over-ons

The FNV Transport and Logistics trade union has won an important legal victory to ensure that Hungarian drivers working for the Dutch haulier Van den Bosch Transporten get the pay and conditions set by the sector agreement. The company had been using its Hungarian branch as a subcontractor with Hungarian drivers flown into the Netherlands to drive Hungarian vehicles and paid Hungarian wages. The European Transport Workers' Federation sees this as an important case, saying that the Posted Workers Directive is underused in the sector but can provide some protection against social dumping. [Read

After mobilising members and putting pressure on management, unions in the hospital sector have managed to secure a new collective agreement in principal that will deliver a 6.5% pay increase over 34 months. The agreement runs from 1 March 2014 to 31 December 2016 and covers around 120000 workers. The deal includes a 3% per year increase in the training budget as well as a commitment to convert flexible contracts into permanent contracts. [Read more at > FNV Zorg & Welzijn (NL)->http://www.fnv.nl/sector-en-cao/alle-sectoren/zorg-en-welzijn/ziekenhuizen/nieuws/1014740-principeakkoord-nieuwe-cao

Negotiations over a new collective agreement for civil servants have begun with unions presenting central government minister Stef Blok with a petition signed by over 30000 civil servants demonstrating the strength of feeling for a new collective agreement. The main aims of the unions are to secure a 3% pay increase, a deal on job security and an allowance in recognition of the long period (over four years) without a revised collective agreement. [Read more at > FNV (NL)->http://www.fnv.nl/over-fnv/nieuws/nieuwsarchief/2015/april/1050197-bonden-en-minister-blok-starten-overleg-cao-rijk/] [And

Trade unions in the state sector have effectively pulled out of negotiations over a new collective agreement following a meeting with civil service minister Stef Blok. The unions are looking for a pay increase that would begin to compensate for the pay freeze that has lasted since the previous collective agreement expired over 1600 days ago. The minister could only talk about a possible 1% increase over the next two years but didn't want to make any commitment before knowing about pension contributions. Unions are planning to give the minister an ultimatum calling for proper negotiations or

Ambulance workers across the country are taking industrial action to put pressure on the employers to negotiate a decent collective agreement. The FNV and CNV unions are concerned about workloads, the pressures of work and securing a pay increase of around 2.5%. They want action to address the negative impact of night shifts, particularly on older workers, and to tackle violence. The unions will be working to rule with a ban on overtime. [Read more at > FNV (NL)->http://www.fnv.nl/sector-en-cao/alle-sectoren/zorg-en-welzijn/ambulancezorg/nieuws/1058459-ambulancepersoneel-voert-actie/] [And at

Around 1400 civil servants joined a march over the Erasmus bridge in Rotterdam calling on the public service minister Stef Blok to reopen negotiations on a new collective agreement. The protest marks the beginning of what could be several months of action with demonstrations already planned in Amsterdam, Arnhem, The Hague, Leeuwarden and Maastricht. It is four years since the last agreement expired and unions are calling for pay rises to compensate for lost purchasing power as well as action to reduce precarious work. [Read more at > FNV (NL)->http://www.fnv.nl/sector-en-cao/alle-sectoren

Unions organising in the mental health sector have negotiated a new collective agreement which will be put to a membership vote for approval. There will be pay increases of 1.75% on 1 July 2015 and 1.25% on 1 July 2016. There will also be a 0.5% increase in the annual bonus in December 2016 and a lump sum payment of 0.5% of salary on 1 December 2015, followed by a further payment of 0.3% of salary in December 2016. The agreement includes conversion of temporary and zero-hour contracts to permanent jobs. The agreement will take effect on July 1, 2015 and runs until 1 March 2017. [Read more at >

Health unions have negotiated a new 32-month agreement covering 70000 employees in University Medical Centres. The agreement is backdated to 1 April this year and runs until 1 January 2018 and includes long-term provisions to increase the employment of people with disabilities with 215 taken on this year and 895 by end of 2018 and regular increases beyond that. Temporary jobs will be converted into permanent ones and there will be guaranteed minimum hours and so an end to zero-hour contracts. Pay will be increased by 0.8% as of 1 April this year then three increases of 1% in August 2015, 2016

State sector unions are running a campaign to put pressure on the government to negotiate a new collective agreement. The unions are angry that the civil service minister has only offered a 0.5% increase after four years of pay being frozen. The unions are calling for a 3% pay increase and improvements to employment conditions, particularly a reduction in flexible contracts. The unions are involving workers in a range of different protests at different times across the country. For example, customs staff will be doing full checks of all goods and baggage going through the port of Rotterdam on

Workers in the childcare sector have given their backing to a new collective agreement that will run until 31 December 2014. The deal was a long time coming with the employers rejecting the last two agreements leaving the sector with an updated agreement for over 18 months. There will be increases of 1% from August this year and a further 1% from next February, with lump sums of €200 in March 2014 and €150 in September 2014. The end-of-year bonus will be abolished in 2014 replace by a general 2% wage increase. The agreement also covers flexibility of working hours and issues related to the

A new two-year agreement has been negotiated to cover the 67000 workers employed by University Medical Centres. There will be a 1% pay increase on 1 October 2013 and a further 1% on 1 August 2014 along with a €500 payment to protect purchasing power. Staff development was also part of the negotiations and each worker's personal budget will be increased from 1.3% to 1.5% of pay with workers also allowed to use the budget for more time off. Younger workers will benefit from higher pay as youth rates have been abolished. [Read more at > FNV Abvakabo (NL)->http://www.abvakabofnv.nl/nieuws/nieuws