Unions limit pay claims to 3.5%

Unions have agreed to limit their wage rises for next year to 3.5% in return for extra government cash for people on minimum incomes.

The deal was reached on Tuesday at the traditional autumn talks in which unions, the government and employers come to a collective decision on social policy for the coming year.
In return for a below-inflation pay claim, ministers will find €460m extra to protect spending power for the poor, handicapped and people with chronic health problems.
‘In the Netherlands we have the ambition to unite and emerge from this crisis in a stronger position,’ prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende is quoted as saying in today’s NRC Next. Balkenende was referring to the current financial turmoil.
‘A moderate development in wages, no increases in value-added-tax [btw] and no unemployment premiums for workers – that is what we have achieved,’ he is quoted as saying.
Plans to raise the btw tax to 20% were dropped in the summer following widespread opposition.
Several weeks ago, the FNV union federation and employers reached a deal on limiting redundancy payments to one year’s salary for those with an annual pay packet of €75,000 or over.
Employers have also promised to step up efforts to find work for the longterm jobless.