Biggest Dutch union to campaign for a 2.5% pay rise

The FNV trade union federation said on Monday it would campaign for an across-the-board pay rise of 2.5% next year and a halt to the rise in temporary and zero-hour contracts.

The country’s biggest trade union group traditionally publishes its strategy for the forthcoming pay round ahead of the budget. The government will reveal its 2017 spending plans on Tuesday.

The FNV says the number of people on temporary and call-up contracts has doubled over the past few years to 900,000.

‘Permanent jobs are becoming temporary ones and temporary jobs become call-out contracts,’ the union said in a statement. ‘More and more people face uncertainty about their jobs.’

‘People want a real job and colleagues with a real job,’ chief negotiator Mariette Patijn said. ‘Then they have the security of a decent, stable income… and can be proud of what they do.’

Last week both the Dutch central bank and finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem indicated they believed there is room for pay rises among Dutch companies.

However, employers organisation VNO-NCW described the pay demand as ‘something from the past’. Many companies are still coping with the impact of the crisis and a hefty pay rise could hit their recovery, the employers body said.