The collective labor agreement for employees of municipalities is final. Trade unions previously agreed to the proposal and recently a large majority of municipalities also agreed. As a result, strikes among municipal employees are definitely over.
Earlier this year, for example, garbage collectors in major cities went on strike. They wanted to reinforce their demand for higher wages and better working conditions. It led to piles of rubbish on the streets.
In February, employees and employers reached an agreement on a new collective labor agreement. But after such an agreement, the members of unions and employers’ association VNG still have to agree to the agreement. That has now happened.
Most of the 342 municipalities voted in favor of the collective labor agreement. There was still some criticism. For example, a number of municipalities were not happy with the pace of the negotiations, among other things.
The 12-month agreement applies to approximately 190,000 employees. In addition to wage increases of up to 13 percent, agreements have been made about holidays, social security and parental leave, among other things.
At the end of March, almost 93 percent of the members of the FNV union had already voted for the new municipal collective labor agreement. The vast majority of members of other unions, including CNV, also agreed with the proposal.