Dutch trade union FNV signed an agreement today with a number of organisations to reduce the differences between permanent employees and people with an insecure contract within the insurance sector.

Those with an insecure contract include temporary workers and the self-employed without employees (independent contractors).

FNV signed the ‘Work Code’ together with trade unions CNV and De Unie, as well as financial services firm Achmea, insurance firms VGZ, ASR and Nationale Nederlanden (NN), and financial services and banking firm ING.

The agreement consists of five principles, including agreements in the field of equal pay, but also about access to disability insurance and pensions for everyone regardless of their contract form.

Zakaria Boufangacha, employment conditions coordinator at FNV, said, “It is good that social partners take responsibility together for improving the position of all workers. This benefits the employee, the employer, and society.”

According to Flexnieuws, the Code includes equal rewards as well as agreements for the duration of stay for temporary employees and if the temporary employee wants then they can be in permanent employment after this duration of stay period, if the work is still there. The Code also includes access to disability and pension provisions, personal development of flex workers and restriction of competition clauses.

The trade unions and financial and insurance firms have said they would like to see more organisations in the financial sector follow this example. Meanwhile the trade unions have said they would also like to introduce such a work code in other sectors such as the hospitality industry and the retail trade.