Wage levels set in collective labour agreements are expected to rise by an average of 3% in 2008, compared with 2% in 2007. This general increase can be seen in the services and transport sectors, where serious industrial action preceded a final agreement at the negotiation table. Matters are further complicated at TNT Post and the regional transport services where collective bargaining has been taking place against a backdrop of company reorganisations.
Collective agreements were concluded during the spring of 2008 in various sectors, covering economic activities ranging from university hospitals to light engineering. Several of these deals were prompted by collective industrial action. Major industrial action was undertaken by postal employees, bus drivers and schoolteachers. With respect to the latter group, in the education sector, the agreement was not signed by all employers amidst fears that their budgets might fall short of the contents of the agreements reached.
Main provisions of agreements in 2008
According to the Spring report on collective bargaining 2008 (Voorjaarsrapportage cao-afspraken 2008 (740Kb PDF)), collectively agreed wages are set to rise by an average of 3% in 2008. Overall, employees received no more than a 2% wage rise last year.
In terms of non-pay issues, collective agreements have started to focus more attention on keeping older people employed and working for longer. Based on a survey of 100 collective agreements, agreement has been reached in 2008 for 37% of the employees with respect to age-appropriate personnel policy, compared with 24% in 2007. It appears from the collective agreement inventory in the report Working for longer in perspective 2008 (Perspectief op langer doorwerken 2008 (227Kb PDF)) that the number of extra days off work for older workers is being gradually reduced. This outcome ties in with the policy of the Minister of Social Affairs and Employment, Piet Hein Donner, to urge the social partners to do away with policy geared towards special allowances for older employees, such that the associated costs can no longer be used as a reason for not hiring older workers. Additionally, as of 2008, more employees will be given an opportunity to continue working after having turned 65 years of age. In 2006, only one in four older workers were given such an opportunity, which compares with the current ratio of one in three older workers.
Results of collective bargaining in postal services
Collective bargaining prompted industrial action at the postal services provider TNT Post. The offer tabled by management of a 1.5% wage increase was far less than the demand for a 3.5% wage rise put forward by the trade unions. Even the counter-offer made by management only sparked further dispute: the offer provided for a further 1.5% wage increase to be established structurally, on the basis that the trade unions would have to accept a wage decrease of 25% in 2009. The company cites increasing competition in a shrinking market as the reason for its offer, while the trade unions argue that the company is still making significant profits. The parties have been in discussion about collective negotiations for a year. In support of their demands, the trade unions launched industrial action at a shareholders meeting, held a protest demonstration in the centre of the country, and organised rotating strikes across the country. The trade unions succeeded in offering their members an agreed 3% wage increase by the end of May 2008. A monthly, non-structural bonus of 0.5% of the monthly salary was also agreed. The agreement will run for a period of one year, during which time the parties to the negotiations must reach agreement on difficult matters such as bringing salaries at TNT Post in line with the wider labour market.
In the postal delivery sector, it is exceptional that collective agreements have now also been concluded at companies such as Sandd and Selektmail. Postal delivery workers at these companies formerly worked on the basis of freelance-type contracts (NL0704049I). State Secretary of Social Affairs, Frank Heemskerk, supported the trade unions that did not want to progress with completely privatising the postal services market if the social partners failed to reach agreement on hiring workers on the basis of an employment contract.
Company reorganisations and incomplete free market operations have been influential factors in the collective bargaining process in the postal services sector. This is also the case in the regional transport services sector.
Agreement yet to be reached in regional transport services
Negotiations regarding the collective agreement for bus drivers operating on regional transport services are especially challenging. After four months of negotiations, agreement has yet to be reached between the representative trade unions and transport companies Connexxion, Arriva and Veolia. Employers would be prepared to arrive at an 11.5% wage increase over the next three years, but the trade unions see this as insufficient given the flexibility required of employees; for instance, employers expect drivers to be flexible and give up 15 minutes of their paid break time.
Transport companies that also provide train services elsewhere in the Netherlands managed to reach agreement with the trade unions. The cost of the 3.5% increase agreed will be covered by an annual increase in tickets prices by the same percentage. The Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management (Ministerie van Verkeer en Waterstaat, VenW), however, determines the ticket price for bus transport. Following two months of industrial action, the State Secretary for Transport, Tineke Huizinga, agreed to make a financial contribution in the interests of keeping negotiations on track. The parties have since agreed on a wage increase of 3.5% effective from 1 January 2008, and a further wage increase of 2% with effect from 1 January 2009. The collective agreement will apply for an 18-month period. The year-end bonus has also been raised by 0.5% and a contribution towards medical expenses will follow in June 2009.
Marianne Grünell, Hugo Sinzheimer Institute (HSI)