New collective labor agreement for government civil servants: 9.7 percent higher pay

NOS News•today, 4:26 PM

The 150,000 civil servants in the Netherlands have a new collective labor agreement. They will receive a pay increase of 8.5 percent in July and a structural 50 euros per month on top of their salary scale.

In addition, they receive three one-off payments to compensate for inflation, amounting to a total of 2,350 euros gross. The first payment will be given in May.

Furthermore, government officials will have the opportunity to repay 2,000 euros in student debt per year from the Individual Choice Budget. Leasing a bicycle will become structurally possible and paid care leave will be expanded from two to four weeks.

The collective labor agreement runs from July 1, 2024 to the end of 2025. Added up, the average wage increase is 9.7 percent for one and a half years. It is in line with what is agreed elsewhere in other collective labor agreements. For example, the new police collective labor agreement was concluded at the end of last year with a 9.5 percent pay increase.

At the end of March, the unions reached an agreement with the government on a new collective labor agreement. In recent weeks, union members have agreed to the agreement and now outgoing State Secretary Van Huffelen has also signed.