Actions for good collective labor agreement for secondary education
There will be no new collective labor agreement for secondary education for the time being. The unions have broken off the negotiations with the VO Council because there is no prospect of agreement. The employers' organization does not want to do anything to curb the workload and is sticking to a disappointing wage offer. "And so the time has come to take action," he says AOb'there Henrik de Moel.
Picture: Type tank
De AOb and the other unions make a point of agreement during these negotiations about the workload that applies to each teacher. But that's what the VO council wants, according to De Moel, head of secondary education at the AOb, know nothing about it. "They don't want to record it. While there is quite a lot of social consensus about our commitment. We argue for a maximum of twenty teaching hours per week per teacher with a maximum of 25 students per group. That is entirely in the spirit of the motions in the House of Representatives that were passed in The Hague also received wide support. But the VO council is holding back and thus takes the risk that too much can still be asked of colleagues."
3,5 percent
As far as wages are concerned, the social partners have not made much progress. The unions want 3,5 percent. De Moel: "That is certainly not surprising in this sector. It is expected that the market sectors will pick up in the coming years and, in particular, will offer higher wages to the highly educated. It becomes even more difficult to recruit teachers for shortage subjects such as mathematics. All the more surprising that employers do not want to go further than 2,35 percent."
Inappropriate
Even after a negotiation pause of a few weeks, the VO council refused to accommodate the unions. The AOb and the fellow unions concluded that there is no point in talking further. De Moel is disappointed. "I had hoped that the unity with which the social partners in primary education are moving towards The Hague would lead to a different attitude at the Secondary Education Council. Our commitment is ambitious but necessary to be able to offer future-proof secondary education. That stands or falls with the presence of teachers and support staff who are given the time to do their job well We too often get examples of how not to do things in the workplace to follow the line of the VO council which comes down to 'the boss knows what is good is for you.” That's what we find at the AOb never a pleasant attitude, but certainly in a sector where highly educated professionals perform the main task in front of the class and have to facilitate management, such patronage is at least a bit inappropriate. Then they just have to feel it."
Not much can be said about the nature and term of the campaigns
It is not yet possible to say much about the nature of the actions and the period in which they will start. De Moel: "We stopped negotiations this morning and agreed with the unions that these will be actions. We will announce the plans as soon as possible."
