The universities and labor unions have reached a negotiating agreement covering all employees at the fourteen Dutch universities. Salaries will increase structurally by 3.1 percent.

In addition, employees will receive an extra €50 gross per month. “Employees in lower pay scales in particular benefit from this agreement and receive a relatively larger increase than colleagues in higher scales,” said board member Donald Pechler of the General Education Union. The average pay increase therefore amounts to 4.1 percent. On top of that, everyone will receive a one-time gross payment of €1,534.

According to Hans Biemans, vice chair of the University of Groningen and delegation leader on behalf of UNL, the budget cuts from the previous cabinet have “had an impact on universities.” The new agreement provides “a responsible wage increase” and includes steps on “a number of important issues.”

Pregnancy

Postdoctoral researchers will now have their contracts extended during maternity and childbirth leave, as well as parental and paternity leave. “PhD candidates already had this, so we have aligned this policy,” said Pechler.

In addition, the contracts of PhD candidates who are breastfeeding will be extended by one month, giving them time to properly complete their research. Employees who received certain allowances before pregnancy, such as for irregular working hours, will retain those benefits during pregnancy.

Reducing workload

The collective agreement will also include a “right to disconnect,” meaning university staff cannot be contacted at random for minor issues outside working hours. “We want to reduce workload and promote a culture in which rest outside working hours is respected,” Pechler said.

Lecturers in salary scales 3 or 4 will retain their scale and step if they move to another university. They will therefore not have to start over at the bottom of the pay scale. The unions also plan to further investigate how this group can more often be offered permanent contracts.

University administrators and union representatives will now submit the draft agreement to their members. They hope to finalize a new collective agreement by July 20, which would then apply retroactively from July 1.

This article was translated using AI-assisted tools and reviewed by an editor