Negotiations for a new collective labor agreement for hospital staff have stalled. The unions involved find the hospitals’ wage offer insufficient, potentially leading to strikes.
FNV, CNV, NU’91, and FBZ are negotiating with the Dutch Association of Hospitals (NVZ). This agreement covers around 220,000 healthcare workers.
Hospitals have offered a 4% wage increase this year and a 2% increase next year. The CNV negotiator especially deems the offer for 2026 “utterly inadequate.” The unions demand an additional 7% annually, along with higher travel allowances and solutions for on-call duties.
The NVZ expressed disappointment over the stalled talks, calling the unions’ demands “unrealistic, excessive, and unaffordable,” while considering their own offer, which includes extra irregular hours allowance and higher internship compensation, “balanced and serious.” The unions are now consulting with their members. CNV states that the likelihood of strikes, Sunday services, and other actions is high, with FNV not ruling out actions and NU’91 calling them inevitable.
Source: NOS