1. Collective agreements in the Netherlands
Wike Been
Supported by the European Commission, DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, VP/2018/004/0008

2. PRINCIPAL CHARACTERISTICS OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING IN THE NETHERLANDS
Key features
2000
2016/2017
Actors entitled to collective bargaining
Trade union(s) together with employers’ organization(s)
Importance of bargaining levels
Mainly sector level (10-15% company level)
Favourability principle / possibilities to derogate from (cross-) sectoral agreements
Yes, by means of requesting dispensation at the responsible government department
Collective bargaining coverage
82%
80%
Extension mechanism (or functional equivalent)
Yes, legal extension by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment (15% of coverage resulsts from it)
Trade union density
23%
18%
Employers’ associations density
85%

3. CA’s 1100 (250 sector, 850 company) Publicly available (online)
Duration: 6 months – 5 years, average 23 months
Legal extension max 2 years
Expired = continuing validity, but legal extension ends

4. Topics
Wage clauses
Quasi-mandatory occupational pensions regulated through CA’s
In about half of the CA’s statutory benefits are topped up (pay during sickness, disability arrangements and unemployment benefits)
But also: working hours, vacation days, leave, work&care, health & safety (92%), a la carte regulations (53%) etc.