26 November 2021
In Apeldoorn on 22 and 23 November, the follow-up collective agreement consultation took place between CNV Vakmensen, FNV Schoonmaak and Schoonmakend Nederland. An important moment as Schoonmakend Nederland would reveal its wage offer in this consultation. In its own words, however, the employers' organisation did not make a wage offer but came up with a comprehensive proposal. Opinions on this appeared to be divided.
By Henk Cornelisse, Clean Totaal editorial board member
The start of this round of negotiations began playfully. Dozens of cleaners had travelled to Apeldoorn to use a so-called tribunal (what a rotten word after an FvD MP's last remark!) to enforce the FNV's wish to introduce an hourly wage of €14. The reintroduction of night and weekend surcharges in the hotel cleaning segment was also surprisingly an issue for Schoonmakend Nederland. Anyway, nice to notice the involvement of the cleaners, though.
Integral proposal
Cleaning Netherlands wanted to approach it differently this time than in previous collective agreement negotiations. In short, the emphasis was placed primarily on the qualitative part of the collective agreement. What remains next is the wage space. The main themes here, according to the employers“ organisation, are: Ageing, absenteeism and labour market tightness in the cleaning sector. CLA negotiator Fedde Monsma: ”Starting from respect for standards and values, we want to achieve a balanced CLA that is good for employees and employers. A collective agreement that contributes to the attractiveness of the industry, for large and small." Schoonmakend Nederland's integral proposal therefore focused on the aspects related to maintaining and developing craftsmanship more broadly as well as adjusting or applying a different method of calculating youth wages.
Craftsmanship & digitisation
Subject to conditions, the employers' organisation can go along with the unions' desire for cleaners to be trained as managers. It also sees benefits in developing the cleaners' skills in the field of digitalisation, partly in connection with all kinds of devices, apps, robots and the like that have made their appearance within the cleaning sector. Schoonmakend Nederland proposes that RAS does further research and then sets up and finances such training. Such courses will then be marketed through the various training centres.
Absenteeism
As previously written by us, according to the employers' organisation, the main pain lies with short-term absenteeism within the sector. For this reason, Schoonmakend Nederland proposes replacing the Sickness Absence Committee with a committee that thoroughly investigates the causes of this short absenteeism and, above all, how to solve it. Where the unions advocate 100% continued payment during sickness, the employers' organisation is for the time being sticking to 90% during the second year of disability.
Youth scales
Schoonmakend Nederland opposes the complete abolition of youth wages as desired by the unions. It is, however, willing to compromise. In principle, the employers' organisation is willing to raise the percentages of youth wages in relation to adult wages:
- 17 years from 45% to 80%
- 18 years from 55% to 85%
- 19 years from 65% to 90%
- 20 years from 75% to 100%
The new professional-adult age is thus reduced from 21 years to 20 years. This increase will then include holidays and holiday allowance, which will no longer be paid out separately. Whereas the employers' organisation also advocates paying out on a weekly basis, CNV Vakmensen, following research conducted among HBO students, says it prefers to stick to four-weekly payments.
Early retirement & annual hours standard
Cleaners Netherlands is ready to implement the RVU scheme [see: retire early redacted] by one year, where the unions, for the time being, opted for three years“ early cessation. Also, the employers” organisation is not immediately dismissive of the so-called generation pact, or 80% work, 95% pay and 95% pension, for cleaners with a 60-plus age in heavier occupations in particular. Monsma: “But rather not the latter. We'd rather concentrate on how to prevent such schemes from being needed at all.” Schoonmakend Nederland is in favour of introducing the annual hours standard agreement whereby a deployment of x number of hours per year is agreed that can be flexibly deployed. The total number of hours is converted to a fixed income per four weeks. Working more hours during peaks and fewer hours during troughs. Monsma: "This increases flexibility for the employer, it gives the employee income security and it reduces the use of temporary workers."
Compliance with collective bargaining agreement
Fedde Monsma is candid and realistic regarding the occasional non-compliance with the collective agreement by its members and non-members: ”With 125,000 thousand employees and the many thousands of employers in the industry, things have gone wrong and will continue to go wrong. There is no escaping this. What matters, however, is that this does not happen structurally.” Schoonmakend Nederland says it will continue to insist on being a good employer and is in favour of simplifying the collective labour agreement, so that certain things are not explainable in a creative way. Schoonmakend Nederland embraces the unions” idea of using executives more like mediators to tackle problems right at the root. ”It is best and most effective to resolve differences of opinion down the line," he said.”
Pay rise
The wish of FNV Schoonmaak to introduce an hourly wage of € 14 per hour in wage group 1, step 4 by 1 January 2022 is feasible, according to Schoonmakend Nederland, but in steps. As a dot on the horizon to arrive at the level of this hourly wage, the employers“ organisation sees the summer of 2024. But even this date is not certain. Monsma: ”Introducing all the themes mentioned costs money, choices will have to be made. Forcing a higher direct increase in the hourly wage means, for example, abolishing the idea of increasing youth wages or otherwise."
This is therefore the reason that Cleaning Netherlands talks about a cost increase per year instead of a wage growth. Here, the employers“ association envisages a total cost increase of 3% in 2022 and a slightly lower rate in 2023 and 2024. In other words: The more parts of the qualitative part are implemented, the less is left for an actual wage increase: ”We have not mentioned percentages in terms of the actual wage increase, as this depends on the other agreements."
CNV Vakmensen sees it differently
According to CNV Vakmensen, a concrete wage growth mentioned, namely:
per 1-1-2022 2.0%
per 1-1-2023 1.5%
per 1-7-2023 1.0%
per 1-1-2024 1.0%
per 1-6-2024 1.55%
CNV Administrator and collective agreement negotiator Jan Kampherbeek: “It seems like a decent offer but in terms of purchasing power you hardly improve. Everything is getting more expensive, so just to be able to buy the same thing requires a decent wage increase.” The hourly wage level mentioned is irrelevant to the collective agreement negotiator in itself:” My main concern is the purchasing power of cleaners! In the proposed wage increase for the youngsters, I can reasonably agree.”
Minimum payment of 1 hour
Kampherbeek said the employers are not offering enough on other proposals either: “Hotel cleaners should receive the same allowances as other cleaners when working on weekends. There should also be the minimum payment of 1 hour per shift, despite the fact that a lesser time may have been agreed with a client. I don't buy the employers” argument that this means a lot of work will be lost then."
Points of agreement
In addition to the adjustment of the youth wage scales, the CNV negotiator mentioned other issues on which he believes agreement has been reached with employers, namely: Cleaners being allowed to use financial advisers free of charge and employer-paid training on (digital) knowledge development. Kampherbeek: “In short, we continue to make steps forward, but on the most important point, the wage increase, we are far from there yet.”
Despite our repeated request, FNV Schoonmaak has not yet responded with a substantive response. It did, however, sling a meaningless video on its social media. This union expects to come up with a real response after the next consultation. This does not bode well.
Continued
The next negotiations will take place on Monday 29 November 2021. There is still a sizeable gap to close, it seems. To stay in dance terms once again, will the social partners continue to shuffle to the warm sounds of ‘Je t'áime ... moi non plus’ or is it now time for ‘Let's twist again‘ by Chubby Checker? Monsma; ’I firmly believe that we will have a new collective agreement by 1 January, external influences by corona aside, however.“
English (UK)