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Booking.com negotiations news update no6

28 januari 2025

In this newsletter, I keep you informed about the ongoing discussions between De Unie, other trade unions, and HR at Booking.com regarding the company’s announced transformation. These discussions focus on key topics such as the Voluntary Leave Scheme (VLS), the social plan, the negotiation process, and communication. Since Booking.com has requested confidentiality regarding its own negotiating position, I can only share matters that relate to the unions’ involvement in these negotiations.

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What Are the Key Issues?

On Friday, January 21, 2025, we held another meeting with HR at Booking.com. A significant portion of the discussion revolved around the differences and the relationship between the Voluntary Leave Scheme (VLS) and the social plan. Our goal is to ensure that the VLS is attractive enough to minimize the number of forced redundancies. However, it is important to note that the VLS is a voluntary severance scheme, allowing employees the choice to participate, whereas redundancies involve involuntary departures. This distinction, in our view, should also be reflected in the value and structure of the schemes.

HR at Booking.com appears to assign different priorities and financial valuations to the VLS and the social plan than we do. Despite these differences, we have urged them to respond to our proposal. HR has promised to provide their feedback before the next meeting.

 

(Lack of) Understanding

Another point of discussion was the comparison between the current VLS and social plan and those introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Our members feel that the situation today is fundamentally different. During the pandemic, the company and its employees faced unprecedented challenges together. While there was disappointment at the time, employees largely understood the need for action. Today, however, that same understanding is hardly present, if at all.

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Next Steps

The next round of negotiations with HR at Booking.com will take place on Thursday, January 30, 2025. Throughout these discussions, we continue to work closely with the Works Council of Booking.com to represent employees’ interests effectively.

We value your input on the negotiations regarding the VLS and the social plan. If you would like to share your thoughts, please do so before January 30, 2025, via the [response form]. Your feedback will be treated confidentially.

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