As the second union representative for FNV Catering, I have the privilege of writing this Christmas blog. Unfortunately, my colleague Harry de Wit had to step down a few months ago. The end of the year is in sight and a new year is just around the corner. While expectations for the new year may not be too high in the hospitality and recreation sectors, for our wonderful catering-hospitality sector, the expectation is that work and revenues will continue to rise. Particularly in company restaurants, as people are returning to the office more frequently after the pandemic.
In 2022, a lot has happened. Not only within our sector but also in the world around us. We faced developments that were largely beyond our control. First, the tail end of the pandemic, then the war in Ukraine began, followed by the energy crisis with high energy prices, resulting in a significant loss of purchasing power.
Even though you - catering-hospitality staff - will receive a 2% increase from 1 January 2023, this pay rise and the government compensation schemes are insufficient to offset the decline in purchasing power. As union representatives of FNV Catering, we are in discussions with employer organisations to encourage them to make a gesture towards employees as a sector, due to the decline in purchasing power. These discussions are ongoing. There are already individual employers in our sector who are making this gesture towards their staff, which we greatly appreciate!
April of this year was an important month for our sector. We concluded a new CLA for two years. And not just any CLA, but a new catering-hospitality CLA. In this new and sector-wide CLA, the legal position and employment conditions for Updates employees are maintained, and the sector is made more attractive for new and young employees. This is intended to make the sector future-proof and to increase job security for employees in catering, hospitality, and inflight services. Concretely, this means that colleagues within a single company who previously worked under different CLAs will now all fall under this new CLA. A milestone we have been working towards for many years.
In line with this CLA, we organised the conference ‘From catering to hospitality’. Here, a future vision for the sector was discussed; how the sector should further develop in terms of employment conditions, with training and Your career as central themes. This conference will continue in 2023.
Finally, I wish you all very happy holidays with your loved ones. And a good and healthy 2023.
And for those working during these days: I wish you much success and enjoyment at work!
Johan Bijlsma
Second Union Representative FNV Catering