Employees in the travel industry will receive an additional 300 euros in salary per month for the next two years. Employers and trade unions have agreed on this in the new collective labor agreement. Frank Radstake of the ANVR confirms the agreements made to TravMagazine when asked. The new collective labor agreement will take effect on July 1 and will run for two years. For the first time, no percentage wage increase has been agreed, but a nominal wage increase has been agreed. In this way, everyone receives the same amount during the term of the collective labor agreement. The wage increase will take place in two steps: as of 1 July this year, employees will receive an additional 175 euros (gross). The second step, as of 1 July 2025, will result in an increase of 125 euros. Together, that makes 300 euros, based on full-time employment. A nominal salary increase means a huge increase for lower incomes, Radstake acknowledges. ‘If you earn 3,000 euros, an extra 300 euros means an increase of 10 percent. That percentage decreases the more you earn, but it also increases the less you earn. But this is ‘by far’ for employees in the sector the best result we have agreed upon in the history of the collective labor agreement. We have a nice increase for salaries at the lower end of the pay scales and a solid perspective for people who are in the higher scales.’ Radstake, who has been negotiating on behalf of employers for years, calls the salary increase a good way to attract new employees and retain existing employees.
Compensation The collective labor agreement also includes the right to a homeworking allowance (not to be confused with the right to work from home, ed.) and a right to compensation for commuting, with the aim of rewarding sustainable mobility more. These last two measures will come into force on 1 January, so that companies have time to arrange them. In addition, employers and trade unions have agreed to significantly increase the bottom and top of the salary groups. If, after the increase of 175 euros, an employee is still not on the new scale minimum, the salary will increase a little more until the new minimum of the scale is reached. By increasing the maximum salaries at the top of the groups, employees are offered the prospect of further growth. In addition to the collective wage increase, an individual salary increase is also possible. Due to the higher maximum salaries, more employees are entitled to an individual increase based on a good assessment. It has also been agreed that new starting students will receive at least 400 euros per month for an internship of a full-time working week, regardless of whether they are students of MBO, HBO or university education. At the same time, it has been agreed to scrap the so-called ‘senior days’. Employees were granted these extra days on top of their fixed 24 vacation days when they reached a certain age. It has now been agreed that all employees will receive an extra day, bringing the number of vacation days to 25 per year. Employees who already have additional vacation days will retain their rights. In addition, employees are given the opportunity to exchange two public holidays per year, for example exchanging a Christmas day off for a day off on Eid al-Fitr. The agreements are subject to approval by union members. Trade unions FNV and CNV will present the result to their members, who will have two weeks to give their opinion. (Archive photo TravMagazine).
