caoakkoorden

caoakkoorden are collective labor agreements in Dutch-speaking labor relations, typically negotiated between employers’ organizations and trade unions. They establish terms and conditions of employment for a specific sector or company, providing a framework for wages, working hours, leave, overtime, holidays, allowances, career progression, pensions and training. They may also outline procedures for dispute resolution, recruitment, discipline and changes to employment terms. CAO agreements can be sector-wide, applying to all employers in a sector, or company-level, applying only to signatory employers and their employees. In some jurisdictions, a CAO can be extended by law to apply to all employers in a sector, even those not signatories.

The CAO operates as a binding instrument for the parties that signed it and for employees and employers within its scope. It typically sets a floor for terms of employment; individual contracts may not be less favorable than the CAO, and can offer more favorable terms at the discretion of the employer and the employee.

Negotiation is conducted by representative bodies such as employers’ associations and trade unions, usually for a fixed period after which terms are renegotiated. CAO agreements are a central feature of sectoral wage-setting systems in the Netherlands and Belgium, and are used in many other countries with similar labor-relations traditions.