AOb-members agree to the collective bargaining agreement
De AObmembers have agreed to the negotiator's agreement for the collective labor agreement for secondary education. That agreement includes a reduction in workload and a 4,75 percent pay increase.
Overall, 82 percent of members agreed with the negotiator's result. The secondary education sector council of the AOb voted unanimously in favor of the agreement. If the agreement is also adopted by the other trade unions and employers, which is expected, the new collective labor agreement will take effect from 1 July. If the payroll administrations process the changes on time, the teachers and support staff will already see the pay increase in their July salary. The wage increase is 4,75 percent, from July 1, 2022 to May 1, 2023.
I am glad that colleagues in the schools have helped with our collective bargaining campaigns. That absolutely worked
In addition, the employees receive a one-off payment of 500 euros in proportion to their employment, to bridge the time that elapsed after the expiry of the old collective labor agreement (which was in force until 1 January this year). A structural annual payment of EUR 275 has also been agreed for support staff in proportion to their employment.
Workload
A hot topic in the negotiations was the distribution of the 300 million euros from the Education agreement, intended to reduce the workload. The unions and employers have agreed that half of this amount, in hours, will benefit the employees individually.
Budget
“In concrete terms, this means that everyone gets 40 extra hours for workload relief,” says AObnegotiator Jelmer Evers. “That's on top of the 50 hours each employee already had in his or her personal budget. So there is now 90 hours per year available per person. This can be spent on, for example, less teaching, fewer other tasks or, in consultation with the employer, on leave.”
Some school boards say that hours from the personal budget can no longer be used for leave. That is absolutely not true
A number of school boards have also informed staff that the hours from the personal budget can no longer be used for leave. “That is absolutely not true,” says Evers. “The collective labor agreement article stating that those hours may be used for savings and leave will disappear. But there is another article in its place, which makes this possible. So you can still use those hours for savings and leave – let there be no ambiguity about that.”
Paid
The 40 hours for individual task relief can also be paid once in the 2022-2023 school year, if staff members so choose. That gives them another 2,4 percent in salary increase.
The other half of the 300 million for relieving the workload will be spent through the teams in the schools. It is also stipulated that a majority of the personnel and the personnel section of the mr must agree to the distribution of the resources in the school.
School Leaders Scholarship
In addition, 53 million is available to add 16 hours to the hours for professionalization, on top of the hours that are already there. There will also be a school leaders grant, which is also available for team leaders, and parental leave will be extended. The latter will be further completed.
This collective labor agreement is a good step, but we are not there yet. Fundamental solutions must be found for the problems in secondary education
“It was very long, difficult negotiations, our wishes for less work pressure were great,” says AObdirector Jelmer Evers. “And I'm glad that the colleagues in the schools have helped with our collective labor agreement campaigns. They have challenged the management at their schools to start a conversation about what is really needed in the workplace, and that has absolutely worked.”
Breakthrough
“This collective labor agreement is a good step, but we are not there yet,” says Evers. “We must make a breakthrough with politicians and employers in the coming school year in order to achieve fundamental solutions to the problems in secondary education. We want to make agreements about the number of teaching hours per year and per week, the class size, the financing via lump sum. That can only be done together with The Hague and that is now also included in the work agenda that we have agreed with the minister.”
Read more:
De Frequently Asked Questions about the negotiating agreement
watch it webinar about the negotiating agreement back
Read it here full negotiator agreement
