The wage deals entered into this year are substantial. Employees on average haven’t received this much in paychecks since the early 1970s. “And the trend is still up,” says a spokesperson for the AWVN employers’ association.
Wages rose by no less than 6.7% in November, according to preliminary data. “But this is very exceptional, because very few collective agreements have been concluded. The agreement with IKEA in particular raises the average a lot.” The store’s employees in the Netherlands will receive a salary increase of at least 13% in one year. The increase can reach 17%.
According to the AWVN, the further increase in the minimum wage could have consequences in the coming months. “Of course there are collective agreements where many people are on or near minimum wage. There aren’t many, but it can have an upward effect on the average wage.”
In the first eleven months of this year a total of 385 collective labor agreements were concluded. This includes more than 3.9 million employees. The average salary increase is 3.3%. Wages have increased particularly in the metallurgical sector, in the retail trade, in education, in transport and in the chemical sector.
According to ING economist Marcel Klok, the average annual wage increase is higher today than it was a few years ago, but certainly not exceptional. “In the 1970s, year-on-year wages sometimes increased by more than 10%. Many collective agreements provided for an automatic and substantial wage increase.” In 1975, for example, wages increased by no less than 15.5%.
‘Wage increases are accelerating’
The AWVN says there has been a normal pattern so far. “This year we have seen that wage increases have started faster. The question is, of course, how long it will take. There is, for example, a huge shortage on the labor market. Employers are doing all the possible to retain or attract staff through salary increases”.
Additionally, companies are providing more one-time benefits to compensate their employees for the loss of purchasing power. This regime is included in more than a third of collective bargaining agreements concluded this year and this trend continues.
“But on the other hand, there is a lot of uncertainty due to high inflation, high raw material and energy prices, geopolitical situation and war in Ukraine. We have never seen that contrast and this combination before.” , underlines the spokesman of the AWVN.
