On November 11, 2025, we held our first consultation with the employer regarding a new collective labor agreement for Signify. During this consultation, the employer and De Unie We further explained our proposals to each other and answered questions. We have not yet negotiated the content of our proposals.
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First wage offer from employer
As in the employer's proposals it can be read that there is a large gap between the employer's first wage offer and that of De UnieIn addition, the employer also wants to make a distinction between employees, which means De Unie is undesirable and unjustifiable.
During the explanation of our proposals, we spoke on behalf of De Unie our proposal The salary increase has been further specified. We are requesting a 6% annual salary increase, effective January 1, 2026.
Based on our calculations over the past five years, we actually arrive at a much higher percentage. These calculations consider factors such as the CPI (Consumer Price Index), inflation, general wage trends in the Netherlands, and purchasing power maintenance and improvement. We compare this data with Signify's collective bargaining agreement (CBA) wage increases over the past five years. Based on this, we conclude that Signify is clearly lagging behind. In concrete terms, this means Signify is lagging behind inflation and average CBA increases by approximately 15%.
We realize that this backlog cannot be closed in one go, but with our wage increase proposal we hope to take a first step in this direction.
Home office facilities
We were pleasantly surprised by one of the employer's proposals. Ultimately, the employer decided to introduce a work-from-home program at Signify. Employees will be offered the option of working from home for a maximum of two days per week.
Unfortunately, Signify only offers an expense allowance of €2,45 per day for this. They also offer no facilities or compensation for setting up a suitable home workspace. Furthermore, the employer refuses to agree on fixed work-from-home days with employees. At the same time, the employer indicated that it wants to finalize the details of the arrangement with the central works council.
As you can read in our proposals regarding the work-from-home policy, we would like to discuss the content of this policy with the employer. We have no objection to the works council being involved in this process.
How further?
On November 19th De Unie substantive negotiations with the employer.
Questions?
If you have any questions following this message, please contact the advocate Suat Koetloe by email suat.koetloe@unie.nl or call 06-5252 2061.
