Dutch local government unions match inflation

Dutch unions have reached agreement on a new pay settlement for 2023 that broadly keeps pace with inflation, which was 8.0% in the Netherlands in February. It provides for an increase of €240 a month plus 2.0%, and is worth on average around 9.1% for the 190,000 local government workers covered by the deal, according to union calculations. The large flat-rate element in the settlement means that the lowest paid gain most, with their salaries rising by 13%. The settlement was preceded by several weeks of industrial action.

Local government workers are not the only ones seeing higher pay increases and taking action. The latest employers’ figures show negotiated increases running at 7% in February, the highest since the 1970s, and hospital workers are one of a number of groups who have been on strike.