From 10 to 25 February, members of the FNV Bondgenoten union working in the metalelektro or large metal industry (140,000 employees) were able to vote on the unions’ collective bargaining proposals. Bargaining itself is to start on 29 March. Central issues in the proposals are improving purchasing power, maintaining good pension schemes and early retirement, investment in professional skills and equal pay and working conditions for temporary workers. In emphasizing the last two issues, the union asks for a larger commitment of employers to attaining sustainable employability, innovation, high value-added production, and quality jobs. The wage demand is 2%, as decided by the FNV Bondgenoten board in December 2010. Yet Jos Brocken, the union’s main negotiator in the sector, adds: “Yet, we will demand 3% if the employers would not go along with our proposals on pensions, training and employment.”
English: message of EUCOBAN network of EMF / EFFAT / ETUF-TCL / EMCEF
This article was published in the Collective Bargaining Newsletter. 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 2011.