Pay settlements, Procurement
Union members voting on different energy deals
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
Municipal pay deal finalised but health unions maintain dispute
The collective agreement covering the municipal sector has now been finalised and runs from 1 May 2022 to 30 April 2025. EPSU affiliates JHL and Jyty report that salaries will increase this month by €46 per month for those on less than €2300 a month and by 2% for salaries above this amount. Allowances will also increase by 2%. A pot of 0.5% will be distributed in October depending on negotiations in September. If the negotiations don’t produce a result the 0.5% will be a general increase for all. Next year and in 2024 wages will increase by at least 1.5% in June with a further 0.4%, allocated
Social and care staff to get additional days off and monthly allowances
After three days of bargaining the ver.di services union has negotiated an agreement with the VKA municipal employers that goes some way to address the undervaluation and overwork of staff in social and educational services. The union thanked its members for mobilising to achieve the result in the face of considerable resistance from the employers. Over 40,000 ver.di members took action in the week leading up to the latest negotiations. The agreement will provide employees with two additional days off as well as the option to convert part of their salary into two further days off. Educators
Extended mediation finally delivers result for municipal and state workers
Five of the six trade unions in the LO Kommune bargaining group agreed to back the mediation proposal for municipal workers that was finally delivered on 24 May, averting strikes across the sector. The largest union in the sector, Fagforbundet, reported that the agreement would deliver increases on annual salaries of between NOK 12000 (€1165) and NOK 16800 (€1635). The settlement was ahead of that achieved in manufacturing this year, as the unions had pushed for a better deal to allow catching up on the lower settlement in 2021. The agreement also provides for increased night and weekend
Unions secure new waste agreement for public and private sectors
Fp Cgil and other unions in the waste and environmental sector have negotiated a three-year agreement covering the period 2022-24 which will bring together the previously separate public and private sectors and cover around 100,000 workers. Workers will see an average monthly pay increase of around €121 which the unions argue will keep wages in line with inflation. The unions particularly underline the importance of achieving a single agreement for the sector. The new agreement will also include increases in various allowances, benefits and productivity payments. There are provisions to
Unions sign three-year agreement covering central government
The public service federations – Fp-Cgil, Cisl-Fp and Uil-Pa – have negotiated a three-year agreement covering the period 2018-21 that will see pay rise by between 4.2% and 5.6% with the lower pay scales getting the higher increases. The trade unions have also welcomed changes to the occupational classification system and pay structure, strengthening of relations with trade unions, changes to leave arrangements to help victims of gender-based violence and new rules on smart work and telework.
Pay rise for health workers
The Federation of Health Unions (CITUB) and Medical Federation (Podkrepa) have signed a new collective agreement with the ministry of health that will run until April 2024. There are substantial pay increases on monthly salaries for doctors and nurses which both the trade unions and government hope will attract new workers to the sector and encourage them to remain in the country. Doctors will get an increase of BGN 800 (€400) with BGN 550 (€280) for health professionals and BGN 200 (€100) for nurses. Minimum salaries will now be BGN 1900 (€970) for specialist doctors, BGN 1500 (€765) for
Lengthy negotiations finally deliver on trade union demands
On 26 April, at the 14th session of negotiations between public service unions, including the HSSMS-MT nurses’ union and SDLSN public administration union, and the government, it was confirmed that the general public sector pay increase will be 4% backdated to 1 April. This is a positive outcome for the trade unions as the government had been pushing for a 2% rise from 1 May and then a further 2% later in the year. The meeting was joined by six ministers along with the prime minister. The unions also secured a commitment to further negotiations on pay in September and an increase in the
Disability care agreement delivers 8%+ for lower paid
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
Youth workers get 8% increase in three-year deal
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
Union frustrated after second round of bargaining
Employers failed to come up with a pay offer in the second round of collective bargaining covering approximately 330,000 employees in social services and early years education. Services union ver.di reports massive disappointment among the workers who are looking for clear initiatives to relieve overwork, improve working conditions and upgrade occupations. The union underlines the need for urgent action with significant staff shortages across the sectors. Ver.di will be considering what action to take in the lead up to the next negotiations on 16-17 May. Meanwhile, the union has negotiated a
Unions secure 6%+ for workers in social care
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
High vote in favour of new pay structure for school secretaries
The Fórsa public services union reports that its school secretary membership has voted overwhelmingly to accept a new package of pay and working conditions negotiated by the union. The agreement places all school secretaries on public service salary rates after a decades-long campaign for pay equity. The deal significantly improves incomes and paid leave arrangements for low-paid secretaries, who the union says have been overlooked and undervalued for years. All school secretaries will transfer to a new pay-scale aligned with the public service clerical officer scale. This is a major change as
State sector agreement finalised as municipal unions impose overtime ban
State sector trade unions have negotiated a two-year agreement which delivers a 2.0% pay increase this year on 1 June for 78000 workers. The agreement runs from 1 March 2022 to 29 February 2024. Negotiations on a pay increase for 2023 will take place late this year with a deadline of 21 December. If that deadline is missed then it will be possible to terminate the agreement. The unions have also managed to get long-sought changes to the rules that apply to the payment of supplementary and overtime pay when the working period or working week is unexpectedly interrupted due to illness or other