Exceptional circumstances this year at both unions and the trade union KNV. It is also possible to meet during the corona restrictions via an online consultation with the members. It may be better to consult the constituency digitally than to meet somewhere in a small room about these subjects. The focus of the collective labor agreement negotiations is on the agenda. As with any negotiation, it is a game of give and take, but the big question is what period agreements can be made now that everything is uncertain in corona time. This once again shows that the sector has problems with a collective labor agreement for both target group transport and other transport such as street taxi and airport transport.
minimum wage
The minimum wage is an item on the agenda for the unions, especially now that various political parties want to raise the minimum wage to 14 euros per hour during this election time, this has not gone unnoticed by Roos Kohn (FNV) and the other unions. The national average is currently EUR 9.87 per hour, and for FNV, putting the minimum wage on the agenda is a good time for the taxi sector to take this into account. FNV is calling on drivers, planners, dispatchers and other employees in the taxi and healthcare transport to participate in the online consultation so that they can present strong proposals to the employers.
attractive collective labor agreement
The trade association is also busy preparing for the negotiations. A large majority argues for a new collective labor agreement as of 2022 and, above all, for keeping the collective labor agreement attractive, comparable to other sectors. Especially in target group transport there is a need for an attractive collective labor agreement to be able to attract drivers. Despite the current collective labor agreement, extending by 1 year is also possible, given the current circumstances, a not insignificant part of the entrepreneurs disagrees.
target group transport
Transport companies that mainly consist of target group transport have suffered less from the corona crisis than the other taxi companies. And that is clearly heard at the negotiating table. In response to the national call for regional and local support, to support municipalities payment arrangements in target group transport, a second coordinated notification of state aid has been submitted to the European Commission. The Commission has approved this notification. Under certain conditions, support may be granted to transport companies for the transport of target groups. Because the aid has been approved under it Temporary Support Frame (TSK), the conditions for provision are different from the first decision. The second decision covers the period July 1, 2020 to October 13, 2020.
Despite there must be room for a wage increase in line with the inflation correction, it remains difficult for many entrepreneurs to talk about a structural wage increase because they simply do not have the financial scope for it.
street taxi
It continues to survive for street taxis and airport transport. Due to the enormous decline in airport transport, the closure of the catering industry and the absence of events, the turnover is disappointing for many companies in this branch of the profession. While the turnover has collapsed, the monthly fixed costs, such as the car lease, insurance, telephone subscription and taxi permit, continue to be charged. During the worst period of the corona crisis, many taxi drivers temporarily suspended their license plates. Due to this suspension, fixed costs such as insurance could also be temporarily canceled. Now that student transport is starting up again, many of these drivers are not yet getting started because this addition to the daily street taxi activities is not enough to get the taxi out of suspension. Almost three quarters of the taxi drivers no longer see a future in the taxi industry.
