Dutch unions and universities have reached a preliminary agreement on a new collective agreement.
If their constituencies approve it, there will be a structural pay rise of 9 per cent and a one-off payment of up to 1,200 euros from 1 August.
Union FNV Education and Research calls the outcome of the difficult negotiations ‘pretty good’. According to negotiator Jan Boersma, there will be ‘a solid wage increase that is badly needed especially for employees in the lower scales to help cover the ever-increasing cost of living’.
In April, FNV and the other unions still demanded a 14 per cent pay rise, but this ‘was not in the cards’. According to the FNV, it “just failed” to completely cover the loss in purchasing power for this year for the lower scales.
To accommodate these workers, university staff with a minimum hourly wage of 14 euros will receive a one-off payment of 1,200 euros. For scales up to 9, 1,000 euro has been agreed and for scales 10 and above, 800 euro.
Furthermore, the flexible shell of temporary contracts for academic staff will be reduced to 13.5 per cent in a maximum of three years. The negotiators will submit the agreements to their members. No later than 26 July, they will decide whether the agreement will be converted into a new collective agreement. That will have a duration of 15 months: from 1 April 2023 to 30 June 2024. (HOP, HC)
Comments are closed.