On June 25, universities and unions agreed that university staff will receive a permanent contract after a year, everyone will get a 2 percent pay increase, and universities will pay out monthly net compensations for internet usage and working from home.
The new collective agreement for universities, which goes into effect on January 1, 2021 and will last until March 31, 2022, is aimed at dealing with flexible contracts and allows for an increase in people working from home.
Change to permanent jobs
Assistant professors, associate professors, and full professors will receive a permanent contract after a year. The same applies for all support staff and for temporary scientific staff working with a Vidi grant. New staff members will be given a permanent contract after eighteen months.
‘We’re finally making the change from flexible to permanent jobs in the education and research sector’, says Jan Boersma with the Education & Research sector of the Federation of Dutch Trade Unions. ‘This will further curb the work stress in the sector. It was high time, too.’
Boersma says the new agreement will mean nearly eight hundred academic staff will receive a permanent contract in 2021. A ‘multitude of support staff jobs’ will be converted to permanent contracts as well.
Pay raise
The new agreement also deals with pay increases and regular compensation for people working from home. Employees will receive a 2 percent pay increase in two steps: salaries will increase by 1.64 percent on July 1, and another 0.36 percent on January 1. Minimum wage will be increased to 14 euros an hour on July 1.
Employees will also receive a one-time payment of 650 euros, bases on a 38-hour work week.
Working from home
Both the unions and the universities expect that people will continue to work from home after all the corona restrictions have been relaxed. The universities and the unions have agreed that a hybrid form of working will become possible, as long as the job and a person’s position in the team allow for it.
On top of the pay increase, employees will receive a net compensation for working from home of 2 euros a day, and a net compensation for internet use of 25 euros a month.