Pay rise for interns, clinical rotations and staff at UMCs

Interns and students doing clinical rotations at university medical centres will receive higher allowances, according to the new collective labour agreement. Employees will also get a pay rise and will be able to repay their student debt tax-free.

At present, interns at University Medical Centers receive 420 euros per month, but that amount will increase by 80 euros. This is stated in the new collective labour agreement arrangements that trade unions and employers are presenting to their members.

A different allowance applies to students doing clinical rotations. This will be increased from 120 to 300 euros per month. Different rules apply to internship allowances at non-university hospitals.

The agreement also states that staff will see their pay rise by 7 percent over two years. There is, however, a cap: for the higher pay scales there will be no percentage-based increase, but a fixed amount of just over 300 euros gross per month.

In addition to a salary increase, employees will receive higher pay if they work, for example, on Saturday mornings or on New Year’s Eve. Moreover, the number of leave hours will be increased.

Student debt

The new agreement also stipulates that graduates will be given the opportunity to repay their student debt via the so-called work-related costs scheme, meaning they will not have to pay tax on it.

“We have been drawing attention for some time to the high student debts with which especially young employees start at UMCs”, says CNV negotiator Bart Schnoor. “The possibility of repaying student debts in a tax-friendly way is very welcome for this group, especially for the so-called unlucky generation.”

The new collective labour agreement applies retroactively from 1 January this year until the end of 2027.

Evasion

Last year it emerged that the seven university medical centres (UMCs) did not always comply with the collective labour agreement provisions on internship allowances, to the annoyance of trade union FNV. Whether this issue was raised during the negotiations is not known.