NN collective labor agreement: further information

June 10, 2022

Vote NN collective labor agreement

De Unie asked the members to vote on the new collective labor agreement in mid-May. This led to an affirmative result, 91% in favour. I announced this result to the members of on 1 June De Unie, to NN Group and to the other trade unions. In front of De Unie the decision of the members is decisive.

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But why no collective labor agreement yet?

So far, however, no signatures have been made. This is not a choice of De Unie† The other trade unions later questioned the process. Because we have so far worked well and constructively with the other trade unions in this process, De Unie give them the opportunity to speak out. The structural salary increase of 3% and a one-off payment of €1.000 are not jeopardized by a short postponement.

How does it go on?

In the short term there will be a discussion between the three trade unions and NN-Group. If the other trade unions put forward arguments that were not known at the time of the consultation, nor at the time of the union's joint decision to submit the final offer, this is of course important to discuss. De Unie has not been able to find these new facts himself.

The members are informed about the next steps by the representative, Inge de Vries.

Questions from members

The members have questions about the how and why of these developments. I would like to elaborate on that.

Question: Why do the trade unions ask members to vote if the result is not followed?

Answer: As the De Unie asks the opinion of the members, the members can expect that the result will be respected. The behavior of the other trade unions now with the NN collective labor agreement is unusual. They will have to discuss this with their own members. In the context of trade union collegiality, we are now giving the other trade unions some time to formulate their questions to NN.

Question: It is also not fair that NN has put pressure on the trade unions by making a final offer.

Answer: This went differently. There was a negotiation result in which not all trade unions were sure of the way in which the result could be presented. Subsequently, the union leaders slept on it for a night, consulted with executives and employment conditions coordinators. The next day, two trade unions (including De Unie) that they would be able to present the negotiated result to members neutrally. One trade union had a different decision. They wanted to present the negotiation result negative (on two points). NN Group then decided that a final offer would provide more clarity. I certainly did not experience this as pressure.

Question: Why have the collective labor agreement and pension not been presented separately?

Answer: This would be very unusual. The pension agreement is part of the NN collective labor agreement, it is regulated in chapter 8. In recent years we have adjusted the pension scheme more than once and this has always been presented to the members as a whole.