Netherlands - Unions refuse wage freeze in local government - January 26, 2010

On 26 January, the three unions involved in collective bargaining for 200,000 public servants in municipal and provincial government, CNV Publieke Zaak, ABVAKABO en CMHF, have presented employers’ delegations with an ultimatum. If the employers will not come back to the negotiating table with a reasonable offer, the unions ensure that they will organize nationwide relay actions. Employers’ current offer is a zero wage increase for 2010-2011. The unions argue that notably the municipalities have considerable financial buffers; moreover, a wage freeze does not fit in the national Social Accord as of April 2009. The unions feel supported as in December municipal workers voted overwhelmingly against the two-year pay freeze (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 2 December 2009).

Dutch: http://www.cnvpubliekezaak.nl/Ultimatum_voor_werkgevers_gemeenten_en_ ...  
http://www.abvakabofnv.nl/nieuws/nieuws/ambtenaren-gaan-actie-voeren

This article was published in the Collective Bargaining Newsletter, which presents up-to-date information on collective bargaining developments across Europe. It aims to facilitate information exchange between trade unions and to support the work of ETUC's collective bargaining committee. For more information, please contact the editor Maarten van Klaveren, Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies (AIAS) M.vanKlaveren@uva.nl. You may find further information on the ETUI at www.etui.org, and on the AIAS at www.uva-aias.net. © ETUI aisbl, Brussels 2009. All rights reserved. The ETUI is not responsible for the content of external internet sites. The ETUI is financially supported by the European Community. The European Community is not responsible for any use made of the information contained in this news section.