Persons who want to change gender can take a total of 24 weeks of leave for medical and non-medical treatment over a period of ten years, FNV said. They will then continue to receive payment and will not have to call in sick or take special leave.
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Some of the IKEA employees asked for leave for gender reassignment, says FNV director Daniëlle Wiek. “In the Netherlands, many collective labor agreements are still aimed at the traditional male-female ratio.”
Do not exclude
According to Wiek, the union also wants other collective agreements to become more inclusive in the future. “We are becoming increasingly aware that the male-female relationship is by no means complete. It is a pity that we still exclude a lot of people in this way,” she says.
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The new collective labor agreement will run from October 1 this year to August 31 next year. Employees will also receive a wage increase of 40 cents per hour and the opportunity to work more hours.
Role model
In 2018, Amsterdam was ahead of its time: the municipality decided at the time that civil servants who wanted to change their gender could take paid leave. In doing so, the municipality wanted to be a role model for other organisations.
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