Health Minister will not interfere in pharmacies' wage dispute, but is against extra money

Health Minister Fleur Agema does not want to get involved in the wage dispute in the pharmacy sector or give pharmacies any extra money to pay their employees higher wages. Employers recently urged her to do so and made a similar request to Agema's predecessor, Pia Dijkstra.

Pharmacy employees want more pay and have emphasized their demands in recent weeks with punctuality actions and strikes in some regions. The employees want 8 percent more pay and better working conditions. The employers are offering 2 percent. The Association of Chain Pharmacies and the Employers' Association of Independent Public Pharmacists want Agema to help out with additional money.

However, Agema emphasizes that additional government funding for better working conditions has already been made available through the budget and that it is up to the social partners to use this to conclude good collective agreements in the healthcare sector. The year 2025 involves an additional 3.6 billion euros in structural terms, reports the VWS."I am not responsible for the collective labor agreements in healthcare and VWS is not a party to collective labor agreement negotiations," she said. She will provide employers and trade unions with a corresponding response shortly.

The minister also assumes that patients will not be affected by the strikes and will be able to get their medication as usual.