Philips has agreed with trade unions FNV, CNV, VHP2 and De Unie on a new collective labour agreement. Thus preventing the need for unions to go a strike.
Philips previously let an ultimatum from the unions expire, and the unions prepared for retaliative action. The FNV says it is ‘moderately satisfied’ with the result. The union is especially pleased with the wage increase that has been made possible for the lower professional groups.
The ‘lower-income’ professional groups at Philips will receive a wage increase of 10 percent from January 1, 2023, to July 1, 2024: the end time of the new collective labour agreement. ‘Higher-income’ departments will receive a wage increase of seven percent. In addition, all employees receive a one-off payment of 1750 euros. The CNV union sees that threatening action has helped. “This result is much better than the final offer from Philips,” says CNV negotiator Huizinga
Threat
“In two years, nobody got more than a five percent wage increase. The strike threat has therefore paid off. And rightly so. It would have been unfair to saddle Philips employees with a huge financial setback, especially with the current inflation trends. That’s why I’m glad that the management, even if it was at the last minute, still listened to its people,” says the trade unions. Apparently, Philips management is also happy with the revised collective agreement.
Purchasing power
“In this agreement, we pay extra attention to improving the purchasing power of the lower-income professional groups, where the pain of high inflation is greatest. By giving these departments a higher salary increase, we try to offer a solution there as much as possible,” says Van Es.
The collective labour agreement has not yet entered into force; the members of the various unions must first approve the agreement.
Source: Studio040
For Eindhoven News: Beena Arunraj
