Netherlands - Strikes loom after pension talks - March 31, 2026

Trade unions have warned that strikes will be inevitable unless the cabinet radically changes its plans to delay the retirement age and restrict unemployment pay. The major unions FNV, CNV and VCP left a two-hour introductory meeting with ministers after just 45 minutes and cancelled the upcoming spring meeting with the Government and employers’ representatives. Unions are angry about the new coalition’s plan to speed up the extension of the state pension age – currently 67 – so that it will increase in line with life expectancy. On current projections people in their twenties could have to keep working until 72.

Read on: in English… Read on: in Dutch and English…

More information: https://www.etui.org/newsletters