Pension and renunciation: What now?

Questioner

Five years ago, with my employer's approval, I signed a waiver stating that I would not participate in the collective pension scheme (this also applies to a colleague of mine). Now, after five years, my employer wants to switch to an industry-wide pension fund. They are now demanding that we both be held liable for the pension contributions from the date we started working. They state that it is not possible to give up the pension scheme. If this battle is lost, the employer will have to pay the full premium from the date of employment, which amounts to approximately €100,000. Half of this amount must be paid by the employees. This means: 50,000 for the wg and each employee must pay 25,000 (retroactively for 5 years). Is this possible?

Lawyer

You might not be able to avoid this. I quote http://www.arbeidsrechter.nl/afstand-recht-pensioen-op-te-bouwen-door-werknemer: Waiver of rights is not possible if the collective labor agreement entails not only the right but also the obligation to participate. An employment contract may also include such an obligation to which the employer can hold the employee. Furthermore, an employee may be required to participate in an industry-wide pension fund. This means that if the employer or fund so desires, the employee is required to participate in certain cases. If you and your employer are indeed obliged to do so, a payment arrangement seems more than reasonable to me.