New collective labour agreement: around 4% pay rise
The employers’ organisation Universities of the Netherlands and the trade unions have reached a negotiated agreement on a new collective labour agreement. Under the deal, university employees will receive a salary increase of 3.1 per cent plus €50 gross per month from 1 July. On top of that, employees will receive a one-off payment no later than October.
The umbrella organisation Universiteiten van Nederland and employee organisations have reached a negotiating result on the new collective labour agreement for Dutch universities. After several rounds of talks, an agreement was reached that results in an average 4.1 per cent salary increase. This consists of a structural increase of 3.1 per cent, supplemented by an additional 50 euro’s gross per month.
In addition, employees who are in service on 1 July will receive a one-off payment of 1,534 euro’s gross, to be paid out no later than October.
Additional agreements
The deal also includes measures aimed at improving work–life balance. One key provision is the formal introduction of a right to disconnect, meaning employees are not expected to be reachable outside their working hours or scheduled on-call duties. Further arrangements apply to specific staff groups. Lecturers (D3 and D4) and postdocs will retain at least their salary scale and step when moving to another university. PhD candidates will be entitled to a one-month contract extension if they take lactation breaks, and allowances received prior to pregnancy will continue during maternity leave.
The agreement will now be submitted to the respective members for approval. If accepted, the new collective labour agreement will become final later this month and run until 1 July 2027.
View the full negotiating agreement here:
