Childcare staff receives higher wages and additional travel allowance | Economy

Employers are struggling with the shortage of staff, partly because thousands of employees quit every year. They then go on to work in other positions in healthcare or education.

“We must be and remain an attractive sector,” says Ramon Rikken, chief negotiator of the Childcare Trade Organization (BK). “To prevent outflow to other sectors, a competitive position on primary and secondary employment conditions is necessary.”

The new collective labor agreement will come into effect on July 1 and will run until the end of this calendar year. The end-of-year bonus will increase by 1 percent. In addition, employees will receive a structural wage increase of 1.5 percent in November.

Last year, the salaries of childcare workers increased by an average of 7.9 percent. In the first months of this year they rose by another 4 percent.

In addition to higher wages, more agreements have been made. For example, the modest travel allowance will go from 14 cents to 23 cents per kilometer. That is the maximum tax-free amount.

From July, interns will also receive an internship allowance of at least 300 euros per month for a five-day working week. Previously it happened that they did not receive any compensation.

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The extra roster day will be canceled for staff. Employees could be assigned an extra working day on top of their standard hours. “Employees experienced that extra day as very stressful,” says union director Dennis van Elk of CNV Zorg en Welzijn.

Staff also receive the schedule at least three weeks in advance, instead of two weeks. In addition, there will be projects for “healthier roasting”.

The new agreements are called a transitional collective labor agreement. A new employment contract will then follow for 2025.