Negotiations for renewed collective agreements in the metal sectors (both the metal & technical branches with 285,000 workers and the metal electro branches with 140,000 workers) started in the spring of 2015. The previous agreements expired at the end of February 2015. The negotiations proved difficult from the very beginning and the FNV and CNV trade unions started with a series of strikes. After a summer break, new actions have been announced. The trade unions have restarted a series of regional strikes that will culminate in a national metal march, combined with a one-day strike on 25 September in Rotterdam.
By the end of March 2015 the employers’ organisations formulated a final bid for a collective agreement with a duration of 22 months (ending 1 January 2017). The proposal included a pay increase of 1.35% from 1 October 2015 and another increase of 1.45% a year later. The trade union negotiators rejected the offer.
Added to the fact that the trade unions cannot agree with the proposed pay increase, the key controversies between the negotiating partners are the ‘readjustment’ of the shortened peri
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