Negotiation agreement for new collective labor agreement for research institutes
A pay increase and additional agreements about parental leave. These are the two largest agreements in the negotiator's agreement for employees who work at a research institution. AObNegotiator Donald Pechler: "It is a favorable agreement, I present it positively."
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Next month from August 1, 2022, all employees will see a structural wage increase of 4 percent on their pay slip. In addition, they will receive a one-off payment of 1050 euros gross in this month for a full-time job. Part-timers receive this benefit pro rata. The payment is an allowance, because the last collective labor agreement had already expired on December 31, 2021. Pechler: "It is compensation for the seven months that there was still no collective agreement for the missed wages." In addition, the negotiators also agreed on a salary increase of 2 percent for all employees as of January 1, 2023.
Employees at research institutions will receive a wage increase of 1 percent from 2022 August 4 and a 1 percent increase on 2023 January 2
The term of the collective labor agreement is January 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023. It was deliberate that the collective labor agreement expires in mid-2023. "Then we have sufficient insight into the wage scope for that year and what will be added to the 2 percent agreed for January 2023," says Pechler. "There is then enough time to agree on a new collective labor agreement."
Both parties agreed to also think about making the collective labor agreement more inclusive and more diverse. "Then think of leave for employees who are transgender and going into transition. Or leave for religious holidays, other than just the Christian ones, such as the Eid." No agreements have yet been made about this in this collective agreement, but the employers and the unions want to record this in a subsequent collective agreement.
Parental leave
Parental leave was also an important theme during these collective labor agreement negotiations. This is because from 2 August 2022 a new law will apply that gives parents throughout the Netherlands two months of paid parental leave compared to 70 percent of the UWV daily wage in the first year of the child's life.
Before this law, employees at research institutions were already entitled to partially paid parental leave before their child turns four years old. In total, employees are entitled to 26 weeks of parental leave, of which 13 weeks are paid against 55 percent of the salary if this leave is taken during the first four years of life. As a result of the amendment to the law, employees at research institutions now receive a higher percentage of 70 percent of their salary when they take leave in the first year of life. If hours of the paid 13 weeks are still left after the child is one year old, employees can take this until the child has turned four. Only then does the old rule with the lower percentage of 55 percent apply.
AObnegotiator Donald Pechler: 'It is a favorable agreement, I am presenting this positively'
Consultation
The agreement the unions and the employers' association are now presenting WVOI to the rank and file. All AOb-members who work at a research institution will receive an email with a poll in which they can let them know what they think of the agreements. The poll is open until July 20 at 17.00 p.m.
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