Netherlands: employers worried about wage increases

Employers are sounding the alarm: the wage increases negotiated for 2012 are too high and “don’t mirror the country’s economic situation,” according to the General Employers’ Association (Algemene Werkgevers Vereniging Nederland, AWVN), which gathers 800 businesses.  The highest increases negotiated since January were in transportation and communication (1.9 percent), trade (1.8 percent), and manufacturing and construction (1.7 percent), according to national statistics.  On the other hand, the lowest increases were in finance (0.9 percent), hotel and catering (1.2 percent), culture and healthcare (1.4 percent), and public services.  Employers are worried, in a context of recession where the largest union federation, the Dutch Labor Federation (FNV) is still calling for a 2.5 percent increase for 2012 – the same level as inflation.  The government’s calls for wage moderation and the plan to freeze the remuneration of certain civil servants (teachers, firefighters, police) in 2013 are not working.  The FNV thinks that employees have already made too many efforts and is supporting the police’s strike movement.  Wage increases have not made up for inflation since the third 2010 quarter.  Unions reminded that the same situation prevailed in 2005, leading to a drop in buying power.