The unions are angry about the collective labour agreement proposal that Philips has put on the table. According to the unions, employees are far from being compensated for the inflation level.
Negotiations on a new collective labour agreement were previously suspended when it became known that Philips was cutting 400 jobs in Drachten, in the Friesland province. But according to trade unionist Patrick Meerts of the FNV (Federatie Nederlandse Vakbeweging), (federation of Dutch trade unions), Philips is working on yet another reorganisation.
“I foresee a reorganisation along two lines. The 400 people who have to leave in Drachten on the one hand, and on the other hand the 9,000 employees of Philips Nederland who are screwed under the new collective labour agreement”, Meerts said.
Inflation
“The wage offer we have received is miles away from our justified demands. I cannot go into the content of this in more detail at this time, because we will first discuss the proposal with our members. But I can say that Philips employees are absolutely not compensated for the height of the inflation in this proposal”, Meerts says.
“Daily life has become much more expensive since last year, but the Philips wage has not increased. And future inflation has not been taken into account either”.
Two per cent
According to Philips, making a better wage offer is irresponsible given the company’s situation. “The proposed pay increase of two per cent for fifteen months fits within the situation in which Philips finds itself”, Sylvia van Es, director of Philips Nederland, said.
“Acceding to the unions’ wage demand of eight per cent for twelve months is currently irresponsible. Our offer is aimed at a responsible cost policy to remain competitive as a company, also in the Netherlands”.
Source: Studio040
Translated by: Bob
