# Care union FNV signs revised pay deal for care workers

> The largest care union backs the amended collective agreement for nursing homes, home care and youth health care. It splits the pay rise into two parts instead of four.

Economy · published 2026-10-21 05:54 · https://nlnow.nl/a/care-union-fnv-signs-revised-pay-deal-for-500-000-workers/

FNV Zorg en Welzijn has signed the amended collective labour agreement (cao) for nursing homes, home care and youth health care (VVT), it confirmed to employers' organisations ActiZ and Zorgthuis.nl. FNV says around 500,000 care professionals fall under the agreement.

**Why it matters**

- Wages rise by 3.6% on 1 June 2027 and by 3.6% on 1 June 2028.
- Household care staff get at least €95 in the June 2027 increase.
- Unions and employers will talk again if inflation exceeds the agreed increases.
- The agreement runs for two years, from 1 September 2026 to 1 September 2028.

FNV Zorg en Welzijn, the largest care union, says the deal improves only minimally on the one on the table on 25 June 2026, but it is the most that can be achieved at present. The pay rise had been spread over four parts; it is now two.

> We were able to reverse the spreading of the pay rise over four parts. For many of our members that was an important reason to vote against the first negotiation result.
> — Feli Escarabajal, FNV Zorg en Welzijn

If inflation outpaces the agreed rises, Escarabajal said, FNV will again argue for a pay rise above inflation to improve purchasing power.

The unions CNV and FBZ had already accepted the arrangements made in June. Escarabajal said they gave FNV room to keep negotiating.

A separate protocol agreement covers the irregular-hours allowance (ORT) for Saturday mornings: the parties will study the consequences and impact of such an allowance. Escarabajal said FNV member actions, including a short one at the last round of talks with employers on 13 October, mean that the parties are now seriously discussing reintroducing the allowance, 13 years after it was abolished.

## Background

- **cao (collectieve arbeidsovereenkomst)**: A cao is a collective labour agreement: a set of employment terms, such as pay scales, working hours, holiday entitlement and pension arrangements, negotiated between employers' organisations and trade unions for a whole sector or industry. Once declared generally binding, it applies to the employees in that sector, and in many cases to employers who are not members of the signing organisations. In the Netherlands, cao agreements are a central part of how wages and working conditions are set, and they are often renewed or amended over time.

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