No polonaise, but a wage increase in collective labor agreement

Tekst webredactie - 9 april 2020 - 3 Minuten om te lezen

image: Nanne Meulendijks

As a AObmembers and the constituencies of the other unions and the VO Council agree to this agreement, the new collective labor agreement will take effect retroactively from 1 January this year and will run until 1 January 2021. From 1 March 2020, employees receive secondary education a salary increase of 2,75 percent. This is paid retroactively in May's salary. In June, they also receive a one-off payment of 750 euros gross, in proportion to the size of the employment. The end-of-year bonus will increase by 0,6 percent, bringing it to 8 percent of the annual salary.

We wanted to make use of the wage room that is now available

“In these complicated times it has not become a polonaise”, says AObdirector Henrik de Moel about the negotiation agreement. “Unfortunately, we have not been able to make agreements about the workload, which is desperately needed. We are still angry and disappointed that there was no structural funding last autumn, with which we could have made agreements about tackling the high workload in this sector. ”

Nevertheless, the AOb chose to make agreements with the employers' organization. “We wanted to use the wage margin that is now available. Had we left the negotiations, there might not have been a pay rise. Because these are such uncertain times, we wanted to drag in that pay rise. But at the same time we have chosen to limit the term of the collective labor agreement to 1 January 2021. Hopefully we can tackle the high workload in 2021 with structural solutions.

Complicated

Starting school leaders are now entitled to an induction program and time to follow this training. New teachers have been entitled to this for some time.

The number of salary steps of support staff - mostly team and school leaders - in scale 12 will be reduced from 16 to 12. A logical step, according to De Moel. “The teacher scales had already been shortened, so it could happen that when you became a team or school leader, you rose less quickly than your colleagues.”

We understand the complicated position of schools in shrinking areas

A complicated subject in the negotiations was the so-called chain determination. In the current collective labor agreement there are two separate regulations for the maximum duration of a temporary contract in special education and in public secondary education. In special education you can get a temporary contract for a maximum of two years; in public education this is three years. It has been agreed that all secondary schools will only be allowed to provide a temporary contract for two years from 1 August 2021. But schools that run into problems for a longer period of time, for example due to the shrinking student population, may offer a temporary contract for three years with the consent of the personnel section of the participation council. “The starting point remains a chain of a maximum of two years,” explains De Moel. "But we understand the complicated position of schools in shrinking areas and want to offer them the opportunity to implement a slightly more flexible personnel policy."

Poll

In the coming week, the AOb its members submit the negotiation agreement in a poll that members receive by email. There will also be an online meeting via Microsoft Teams on Tuesday evening 14 April between 19.30 pm and 21.00 pm in which the collective bargaining negotiators explain and ask questions via chat. You can register for this via aob.nl / calendar

The most important agreements from the negotiation agreement:

• The new CLA runs from 1 January 2020 to 1 January 2021.
• The salaries will be increased retroactively from 1 March 2020 by 2,75 percent.
• In June 2020, a one-off gross payment of 750 euros will be awarded in proportion to the amount of employment.
• The end-of-year bonus will be increased by 0,6 percent to 8 percent.
• During the term of this CLA, the CLA parties will evaluate the current exemplary positions for the support staff. Where necessary, the example functions are updated.
• School boards now provide an introduction program for starting school leaders, including the time required for this.
• The number of steps in scale 12 for support staff will be reduced from 1 to 2020 as of 16 August 12, in accordance with the LD scale.
• As of 1 August 2021, staff in both private and public secondary education will receive a temporary contract for a maximum of two years, unless an employer foresees problems on the basis of the long-term staffing policy (usually due to shrinkage). Then the employer - with the consent of the (p)mr - can give temporary contracts for a maximum of three years.

Read here the full negotiation agreement for the new collective labor agreement in secondary education. Go to the CLA page to download the CLA booklet.