In recent months, we have consulted with Achmea several times about a new collective bargaining agreement. As recently announced on Achmeanet, the unions and Achmea have not reached a negotiating result or agreement. Unfortunately, Achmea made a final proposal during the last meeting. This means that further negotiations are no longer possible. In this information, we will provide you with further details and explain the next steps.
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The final proposal
It will be clear to employees by now that we have consistently based our discussions on the results of the collective labor agreement questionnaire. This revealed – not entirely surprisingly – that remuneration and pensions are the most important issues for them. The starting point for these discussions has always been a new collective labor agreement with a term of two years.
Reward
Considering Achmea's results and the results of the collective bargaining agreement questionnaire, we believe a minimum market-based salary increase would be appropriate. Based on various estimates, we have translated this into a minimum collective bargaining agreement increase of 4,5% for 2026 and 4% for 2027. Achmea does not intend to exceed a structural increase of 3,5% and a one-time increase of €1.250 gross in 2026 and 3% in 2027.
Retirement
The current scheme will remain in place until the new pension scheme takes effect as a result of the Future Pensions Act (Wtp). We still needed to make an agreement regarding the distribution of costs (premiums) for the new pension scheme.
The tax-capped premium for the new pension plan will substantially reduce Achmea's costs. Our goal was therefore a tax-maximized plan, not an increase in employee contributions. In fact, we believe there are valid arguments for lowering employee contributions.
Achmea disagrees with this view. While the facts are not denied, Achmea does not consider the cost level of recent years a starting point and wants to use the introduction of the new pension plan to bring pension costs more in line with the sector's level. Achmea already agreed to the tax ceiling for the new pension plan, but wants to increase the employee contribution based on the pensionable salary (from 3,25% to 4,25%). For existing employees, Achmea is willing to offset this increase in salary (by 0,8%).
Other Topics
We had little discussion on the other topics, whether it's increasing the maximum number of commuting kilometers, the possibility of tax-efficient student loan repayments, or improving the Step-Back scheme. The text of the final proposal provides: here read the proposal on all those topics (again).
Why no negotiation result or agreement?
This is mainly due to the difference of opinion regarding the salary paragraph and the new pension scheme.
Regarding wages, we have to make an estimate for the coming years. Given Achmea's excellent results, we believe it's justifiable to make a good, market-based wage agreement. We consider various sources, such as publications from the AWVN (Dutch Association of Employers) and Statistics Netherlands (CBS). Achmea, on the other hand, focuses primarily on "maintaining purchasing power" and bases this on expected inflation, but we consider this too meager.
Furthermore, we naturally accept the consequences of the Wtp (General Pensions Act) regarding pensions, but we believe further austerity measures are truly unnecessary. Yes, Achmea currently has an excellent pension plan, and as far as we're concerned, it will remain that way. Why pay the same or even more for a lesser plan? Achmea's pension premium will be significantly lower than in recent years, and there will be a shift in risk to employees. While this is unavoidable, it benefits Achmea. Furthermore, based on a previous agreement, the compensation for the average system (the same premium for every age group) will be financed from the pension fund's assets, not from a higher premium. This, too, benefits Achmea.
In summary, Achmea's final proposal is (just) insufficient for us to achieve an actual negotiation result or agreement.
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Employees have the final say
At Achmea, we've been using the survey model for several years now. This means you not only help determine the scope of the negotiations, but also have a say in their outcome. As always, De Unie only a signature if a majority of Achmea employees agree.
If you find Achmea's final proposal insufficient, vote against it. If you agree with it, or find the differences between the unions' and Achmea's opinions acceptable, vote in favor of the new collective labor agreement. Of course, you can also abstain. In that case, your vote will count towards the representativeness of the results.
We expect you'll receive a message from the independent research agency Innervoice, commissioned by the unions, asking you to vote by the end of this week or early next week. We encourage everyone to exercise this right to vote. We'll share the results as soon as they're known.
That's it for this post. If you have any questions or comments, please send a message to huug.brinkers@unie.nl
