Employers plan to spend less on wage increases next year

After a year in which collective labor agreement wages increased by an average of 7.1 percent, employers hope to spend less on wage increases next year. They want to have more money left to invest, according to the employment conditions memorandum published by employers’ associations AWVN, VNO-NCW, and MKB Nederland on Thursday.

Companies use the employment conditions memorandum in collective labor talks with trade unions. The gist of the memorandum is to moderate wage increases. Companies need more space to invest in productivity, among other things, to survive.

Businesses and trade unions must remember to keep the long-term challenges in sight, AWVN director Raymond Puts told the Telegraaf. “That is in the interest of both workers and the continuity of companies,” he said.

“Of course, entrepreneurs were present at the collective labor agreement tables themselves this year. But it was an extreme time. They saw that the purchasing power of their employees was under pressure. As a result, some people really went to extremes,” Puts said. That can’t happen again, he said. “The economic situation has deteriorated in many companies and sectors. At the same time, entrepreneurs must become more sustainable and they must deal with the shortage in the labor market. That can only be done by investing, labor productivity must increase.”

According to Puts, employers' focus on productivity isn’t only about profits. “It also helps in the fight against staff shortages and inflation. It is not about working harder but about working smarter with fewer hands. Entrepreneurs must be able to invest in that.”

Puts acknowledged that some employees are still facing reduced purchasing power, which is why the trade unions plan to push for wage increases of between 5 and 14 percent next year. “In companies where there is room for this, salaries can still rise. But in others, there’s no or only a little room.” He stressed that employers have already done much for their workers. “One in three companies also gave employees a once-off financial contribution. On average, that was an amount of 1,000 euros.”