Health and Safety, Local government, Netherlands

Members of the FNV trade union are currently voting on whether to accept a new collective agreement covering central government. The deal includes a €1200 one-off payment for full-time employees to compensate for inflation paid in May this year even before the current agreement expires. On 1 July there will be an 8.5% pay increase plus €50 and an increase in the individual choice budget by 0.13% to 16.50% of the salary. A one-off payment of €800 will follow in November 2024 and a further payment of €350 on 1 July 2025. The one-off payments add up to €2350 (pro rata for part timers). The

The FNV and other trade unions have negotiated a new collective agreement in provincial government which will now be subject to a ballot of members. If approved it will run for 18 months from 1 January 2024 to 30 June 2025. Employees will see an average increase in pay of more than 7.5% in two steps: an increase of €25 or 4.25% from 1 January 2024 and 2.5% from 1 September 2024. As of 1 January 2024, the minimum wage will be €16 gross per hour. There is a range of other changes, including a new internship allowance, changes to pensions and retirement, new procedure relating so social safety

The FNV and NU’91 trade unions have concluded a new 12-month agreement covering around 7800 employees in the sector but with an effective start date of 1 June 2023. The increase comes in three stages with 3.5% backdated to 1 January and then 3.5% on 1 April and 3% on 1 June. The FNV says that the 10% means that maternity workers are catching up with other groups in the health sector but stressed that there remained a major problem about the unpredictability of work. This is still being discussed with the employers and the unions want action to address the high level of absenteeism due to

The FNV trade union is again sounding the alarm over staff shortages in health and social care following the release of official forecasts for the coming decade. The figures show that, on current trends there is a real risk of serious breakdown in the sector which faces an expected shortage of almost 190,000 employees by 2033. The FNV is calling for urgent action, noting that the 5000 shortfall in hospital staff now is set to rise to 27700 in 2033 and that the understaffing exposed by the COVID pandemic will be permanent state of affairs in future. The FNV is calling on the government to

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

Trade unions in municipalities, including the FNV, have negotiated 15-month agreement that runs to 31 March 2025 and provides a 6% pay increase. There will be a 4.75% increase on 1 January followed by 1.25% on 1 October. While most lower paid employees are on €16 or above a few are still on the national minimum wage of €15.92. The FNV is committed to secure a higher minimum wage in local government. The agreement includes an additional day of non-statutory leave as of 1 January 2025, taking the total to eight. While the early retirement scheme is made more accessible, the union is disappointed

The VNG local government employers’ organisation has come up with an offer of a 4% pay rise for the year 2024. The FNV trade union has acknowledged this as an opening to proper negotiations, it says it falls some way short of its main demand for an 8% rise pay increase on top of a flat-rate €100 increase. The VNG is also yet to respond on a number of other issues including leave and early retirement. The negotiations resume on 30 October, when the FNV will also raise concerns around workloads. Meanwhile, the University Medical Centres employer organisation has yet to come up with a specific

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 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

Workers in over 50 hospitals are set to take part in industrial action this month as unions, including the FNV and NU’91, put pressure on the employers FBZ employers’ organisation to come up with a decent pay offer. The unions will be organising a “Sunday service” on the day of protest in support of their claim for a 10% increase for the 200,000 employees in the sector. They are also calling for improved travel allowances and greater control over work schedules. Meanwhile, following a campaign of strike action in local government, the FNV has agreed a pay rise for the 180,000 workers in the

The FNV is taking further action in support of its demand for a 12% pay rise in the municipalities sector. A six-day strike by refuse collection staff in Rotterdam was set to begin on 15 February and a national demonstration was organised in Utrecht. The union has rejected as wholly inadequate an offer from the employers that would have delivered only 5% in February 2023 and 3% in April 2024. Meanwhile, action may follow in the hospitals sector if the NVZ employers’ organisation fails to meet a deadline to come up with a better pay offer. The FNV and NU’91 trade unions are calling for a pay

The FNV and NU’91 trade unions have rejected what the NVZ hospital employers have suddenly claimed is their final offer in the negotiations covering 200,000 health service workers. The offer is for a pay rise of 13% over two years but implemented as 5% in February 2023, 5% in December 2023 and 3% in September 2024. This not only falls below the unions’ call for an immediate 10% increase but FNV and NU’91 also strongly reject the employers’ proposals on allowances related to travel and short-notice shift changes. Members will be consulted over the offer and possible action in response

The FNV trade will launch a campaign of industrial action across local government on 24 January in response to the employers’ failure to come up with an improved pay offer. The union is looking for an increase of 12% and general compensation for inflation but the employers offered only an increase of 5% in February 2023 and 3% in April 2024. The action will begin with a two-day stoppage by waste workers in Almere near to Amsterdam. Action will also follow in Tilburg and Rotterdam and at the end of the month in Amsterdam. The collective agreement in the sector covers around 187000 workers.

Negotiations on a new collective labour agreement to cover the 187,000 employees in municipalities sector have been suspended with the FNV trade union planning to send the VNG employers’ organisation an ultimatum over the holiday period to put pressure on them to negotiate. The union has been pushing for a 11.25% pay increase with a minimum increase of €300 a month, a one-off payment of €1,200 euros and the inclusion of the automatic price compensation in the collective agreement in 2024. The employers’ last pay offer was for only 5% as of 1 February 2023 and 3% as of 1 April 2024. The FNV is