Duration and salary arrangements
The CLA includes a structural salary increase of 1% as of December 1, 2025, followed by a further 1.25% from July 1, 2026, and 1% from January 1, 2027. In addition, employees will receive a one-time net payment of €500 in December 2025 and €250 net in January 2026 (based on a full-time employment contract). In total, the structural salary increase amounts to 3.25% over the term of the CLA. The shift allowance will also be included in the basis for the year-end bonus, starting January 1, 2026.

Other agreements
The 80-90-100 scheme, which allows employees of higher age to work 80% of their hours for 90% of their salary while retaining 100% pension accrual, will be made permanent and extended to shift workers. The Early Retirement Scheme (RVU) will also become permanent for physically demanding occupations from 2026, in line with the national agreement. Furthermore, the profit-sharing scheme will be aligned with that of other staff groups, an addendum for technicians will be introduced, and the social plan will be modernized. Finally, agreements have been made regarding productivity and the development of flexible workers.

Duration and salary arrangements 
The CLA includes a structural salary increase of 1% as of December 1, 2025, followed by a further 1.25% from July 1, 2026, and 1% from January 1, 2027. In addition, employees will receive a one-time net payment of €500 in December 2025 and €250 net in January 2026, based on a full-time employment contract. In total, the structural salary increase amounts to 3.25% over the term of the CLA. Furthermore, from January 1, 2026, shift allowance will be included in the basis for the year-end bonus. 

Miriam Kartman, KLM’s Chief HR Officer: “We are pleased that we have reached a CLA with all five trade unions. In KLM’s current financial reality, we have come together to make solid agreements on remuneration, career development, productivity, and flexibility. This is good news for our colleagues, who will maintain their purchasing power, and for the company as a whole.” 

Other agreements 
The 80-90-100 scheme, which allows employees of higher age to work 80% of their hours for 90% of their salary while retaining 100% pension accrual, will be made permanent and extended to shift workers. The Early Retirement Scheme (RVU) will also become permanent for physically demanding occupations from 2026, in line with the national agreement. Furthermore, the profit-sharing scheme will be aligned with that of other staff groups, an addendum for technicians will be introduced, and the social plan will be modernized. Finally, agreements have been made regarding productivity and the deployment of flexible workers. 

FNV and CNV consider the proposal a negotiation result and will be presenting it to their respective membership bases. De Unie, NVLT and VKP have indicated that they consider KLM’s proposal as its final proposal. This means these unions will inform us if they consider it a negotiation result. KLM hopes that this will soon lead to an agreement with all five ground unions.

The final proposal includes a wage increase effective 1 September 2023 of an amount of €135 gross per month and, effective 1 October 2023, a wage increase of 6%. There will also be a one-off payment of €500 in January 2024. In July 2024, a further increase of 3% will follow and in January 2025, depending on inflation trends, an increase of between 0% and 2%. Bolstered by these wage increases, the minimum wage for KLM Ground Personnel will increase to a level of above €16 an hour during the agreement’s term from 2 March 2023 through 28 February 2025.

KLM will also take further measures to prevent employees from becoming overloaded and will be reintroducing the temporary part-time pre-retirement scheme (also known as the “80-90-100 scheme”). This will enable those employees carrying out the most physically taxing work to retire earlier. The bridging allowance will also make it easier to switch to less physically demanding work.

KLM has ensured that the new CLA takes account of price developments in the Netherlands. A wage clause specifying a 2% increase effective 1 October 2022 and further 2% effective 1 March 2023 has been agreed. This reflects agreements recently reached with the trade unions representing ground personnel.

We also reached an agreement with VNV on productivity and flexibility in the coming period.

The existing international commuting arrangement for pilots has been discontinued. Pilots who live outside the Netherlands will now pay for their flights when commuting to work.

KLM employees will receive one-off payment when KLM no longer has a credit facility with government guarantees. This payment acknowledges the concerted effort made by KLM staff in the face of recent challenges.

Despite KLM’s successful recovery, the future remains uncertain due to factors such as high inflation, rising costs, uncertainties surrounding coronavirus and scarcity in the job market. KLM must therefore continue to cut costs structurally. The negotiating parties agreed to return to the table if the situation so demands in the coming period.

Changing circumstances at KLM 
It was no easy task to arrive at this result together, because the circumstances at KLM are complex and recovery is fragile. Nevertheless, KLM has, in the recent past, managed to repay all its loans to the government, thereby confirming that we are on our way to restoring our financial health.

All KLM staff adopted a flexible and resilient attitude throughout the pandemic, displaying immense loyalty and commitment in contributing to KLM’s recovery under difficult circumstances. It is important to offer them a better outlook in the current, drastically changed situation.

Soaring inflation, declining purchasing power, high work pressure and the tightening labour market are the latest circumstances demanding a response from KLM. That is why they have been offered a salary increase of 2% effective 1 October 2022 and a further 2% effective 1 March 2023. A minimum of EUR 80 has been set for both increases, to ensure that the financial position of those on lower incomes is strengthened.

Agreements with KLM’s predicament in mind
These agreements will restore stability to our organisation and offer better perspectives to (future) staff. Recovery is fragile, however, and the near future will remain difficult to predict for KLM, owing to high inflation, rising costs and dollar exchange rates, the ongoing presence of the coronavirus, and the war in Ukraine. It is therefore important for KLM to retain access to loans from the government and banks (i.e. credit facilities).

This is why KLM must continue its efforts to structurally reduce costs. If circumstances change in the coming period, causing KLM to slip into crisis once more, we will return to the negotiating table with the trade unions.

For the duration of the CLA, there will be no involuntary discharges as long as the mobility instruments of the Voluntary Redundancy Plan prove to be adequate. If not, the parties will reconvene to consult.

KLM and the unions agreed that they would reconvene at a later date to discuss the remainder of the Perform period (from 1 July 2016 through 1 January 2020).