Collective agreement for teachers after far-reaching concessions by education minister

A collective agreement was reached in the education sector in mid April 2008 following far-reaching concessions by the minister of education. It is hoped that the agreement will resolve the dissatisfaction felt among the teaching staff and also the looming shortage of teachers. Despite fears that the agreed employment conditions will not resolve a shortage of teachers, the negotiating parties are pleased with the outcome. Trade union members have approved the agreement.

Critical teacher scarcity leads to structural wage improvement

In mid April 2008, the Minister of Education, Ronald Plasterk, concluded a collective agreement with employers and trade unions in the education sector, providing for a supplementary amount of structural funding which will increase to €1.1 billion by 2020. Additionally, about €800 million will go directly towards higher wages for teachers throughout most of the sector – from primary education to secondary vocational education. The main trade unions involved in the negotiations included the General Teachers’ Union (Algemene Onderwijsbond, AOb), affiliated to the Dutch Trade Union Federation (Federatie Nederlandse Vakbeweging, FNV), and the Christian Teachers’ Union (CNV Onderwijs), affiliated to the Christian Trade Union Federation (Christelijk Nationaal Vakverbond, CNV).

The agreement is based on the government’s overall plan for teaching staff in the Netherlands. At the end of 2007, Minister Plasterk explained how he intended to raise teachers’ salaries by an amount increasing to €1.1 billion by 2020. As a result, negotiations to adopt a plan of action followed with the trade unions. The action plan was based on recommendations put forward by the Rinnooy Kan Committee in September 2007 for addressing the scarcity of teaching staff. In general, young teachers must be attracted to the teaching profession and retained for a longer service in teaching. Moreover, the gradual improvement in earnings is especially troubling for teachers. In fact, many teachers leave the profession for this reason after a five-year period.

Provisions for additional salary increases

Apart from the customary collectively agreed wage increases, teaching staff across the board will also receive a wage rise of 5%–10% in the coming years. As a result, teachers will more quickly reach their maximum earnings level. In addition, 85,000 teachers will be assigned to a higher category of earnings based on their level of experience, training and performance. Some 13,000 of these teachers will have to come from the Randstad conurbation in the west of the Netherlands, encompassing the country’s four biggest cities – Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht – in which teachers are under the greatest pressure.

Teachers who have reached the limits of their earnings category receive an annual bonus of €850 in primary education and €1,000 in secondary education. Reaching the limits of the various earnings categories is also a controversial issue among teaching staff. In primary education alone, around 40% of teachers have already reached the limits of the highest earnings category. The proportion of teachers in higher categories is fixed, so that schools cannot employ too many less costly, younger staff members.

In 2008, all teaching staff received a one-off bonus of €200 on Teachers’ Day, which has since been incorporated in the collective agreement. School supervisors in primary education receive an extra bonus of €275 a month. In order to lessen the workload of teachers, some 1,550 caretakers will be appointed in primary schools and wage cost subsidies will be used to cover this part of the overall plan. Priority will be given to the appointment of caretakers in schools in the four major cities and in the city of Almere in the centre of the country. Scope also exists for the creation of 190 supporting positions for teachers in secondary vocational education. Statutory professional regulations will increase teacher participation across the education sector. Costs will not be cut for older teachers taking additional days off. In addition, a training fund with a substantial budget will be set up.

Older employees protected, younger employees motivated

The agreement reflects the efforts of the trade unions to support younger and older teachers alike. Minister Plasterk’s plan included cost-cutting measures in the arrangement for older teachers to work less; however, the trade unions did everything they could to keep the arrangement intact. Within the framework of the collective agreement, new provisions were also agreed for younger teachers. For example, additional opportunities will be created to facilitate career growth and higher salaries without teachers necessarily having to take on a management role. A set percentage has also been introduced for the promotion of teachers to a higher earnings category. Finally, the social partners agreed that teachers in all four major cities and Almere will be promoted to a higher earnings category.

Overall, the trade unions are pleased with the agreement and the appreciation it shows for teaching staff in the sector. They nonetheless fear that the newly agreed terms and conditions of employment will do little to resolve the looming scarcity of teaching staff in the country. The collective agreement has been approved by the trade unions’ membership base.

Marianne Grünell, Hugo Sinzheimer Institute (HSI)