05 July 2023 at 05:01
Employers will be digging their heels in at the collective labor agreement tables in the coming months, according to a tour of NU.nl. Companies are more cautious because of the uncertain economic situation and believe that they have compensated employees enough by significantly increasing wages.
In addition, employers are wondering whether they may not have listened too much to the fuss about the inflation figures. Especially now that Statistics Netherlands has a new measurement method to measure price increases. This shows that inflation was considerably lower last year.
This leads, for example, to furrowed eyebrows at MaintenanceNL. The trade association for painting and maintenance companies broke open the current collective labor agreement in January to increase the wages of sixteen thousand employees by 10.3 percent.
“But according to the new calculation method of Statistics Netherlands, that should have been 6.9 percent. A difference of no less than 3.4 percent,” says chairman Henk den Boer. “This has already resulted in more than 40 million euros in extra wage costs for our sector.”
According to Den Boer, MaintenanceNL will soon sit down with the trade unions again to discuss inflation compensation. “That has been agreed in the collective labor agreement. But we will include this earlier wage increase in the talks. This is very sour, because we cannot simply pass on the increased wage costs to our clients.”
‘This is a very special situation’
According to collective labor agreement expert Esther Koot, it is very important that the parties show empathy for each other during the negotiations. “We are dealing with a very special and unique situation. First the corona crisis and then the war in Ukraine, rising energy prices and a new method of measuring inflation. It is the first time that this has happened. Both camps are struggling .”
For example, many employees still have great difficulty making ends meet due to higher energy bills and more expensive groceries. Employers face higher costs that they cannot always pass on to consumers.
‘Companies more cautious about wage increases’
Employers’ association AWVN predicts that companies will be more reluctant to raise wages in the coming months. “It would be to the credit of the unions if they took a more moderate attitude. Especially if it turns out that inflation was higher at the time. We should not take too drastic measures by breaking open collective agreements to raise wages. That is not necessary and, moreover, undesirable “, says a spokesman.
At the FNV they don’t want to know about that. Vice-chairman Zakaria Boufangacha indicates that the union does not behave differently than usual. “We look at wage developments and inflation. And then we see that there is still a lot to repair when it comes to loss of purchasing power. Life is still more expensive for many people. A new measuring method does not change that.”
In September, on the day before Prinsjesdag, the FNV will present a new wage demand for the coming collective labor agreement season. The union is currently demanding automatic price compensation at all collective bargaining tables. That equates to a wage increase of 14.3 percent.
2023-07-05 03:01:05
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