Many labor agreements increasing lower wages more to fight inflation

Many recent collective bargaining agreements include higher wage increases for employees who earn relatively little. Employers and unions are trying to help compensate for the high inflation by giving their low-income workers more, NOS reports.

Employers' organization AWVN told NOS that there are now 30 sectors with these kinds of agreements, including the police, healthcare, and the metal industry. That comes down to over a quarter of the new collective labor agreement.

"A year ago, we did not see these kinds of agreements," Jannes van der Velde of AWVN said to the broadcaster. "Employers see that there are problems in society because of inflation and that certain groups of employees do not get by well. Then it is obvious to do something extra by making agreements in the collective labor agreement."

The trade union for professionals VCP is critical of this trend to give more to low-paid workers. According to chairman Nic van Holstein, inflation is also causing more problems for people with middle- and higher incomes. "They feel shortchanged," said Van Holstein. "Those groups can also spend less and less, and that has to be solved in one way or another."

Van der Velde disagrees. "We think it is a good development that we focus on where the pressing problems are. It is an excellent agreement as far as we are concerned."