Not just a pay rise, but also “a lot more” permanent jobs. That is the FNV trade union’s commitment to next year’s collective labor agreement negotiations.
FNV wants an end to what the union calls “the proliferation of flexible structures”. As a result, employees have less say in their work and less influence on their collective labor agreement. According to FNV vice president Zakaria Boufangacha, agreements have already been made, but that is not enough.
“We are now demanding actions, considerably more contracts for an indefinite period of time for all the structural work that there is. And not the almost symbolic handful that employers now often come up with. A fair labor market starts with good collective labor agreements.”
According to the union, especially young people, women and people with a migration background have low-paid and flexible work while doing indispensable and crucial work. Work in, for example, distribution centers and supermarkets should be valued more, says the FNV.
100 euros extra per month
According to FNV, this valuation must come in the form of 100 euros gross per month for each employee. That way you reduce pay differences,” says Boufangacha. “To make the work of low-paid people in a crucial profession more attractive, they need more pay and new colleagues.”
According to the union, wages must also be automatically compensated for inflation so that no one suffers a loss in purchasing power. With an inflation rate of 2 percent and an extra 100 euros per month, that would equate to a wage increase of 7.9 percent for someone on the minimum wage. For employees with an average income, this would be a wage increase of 5.5 percent.
Every year, one day before Budget Day, FNV announces the wage requirement with which the union enters negotiations for new collective labor agreements. Last year, FNV in on a wage requirement of 5 percent for vital professions and sectors where things went well despite corona. The union has also been aiming for a minimum wage of 14 euros per hour for years.
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