Parliament adopted the controversial labour law that allows private employers to extend workdays to 13 hours in exceptional cases. The Government argued it enhances flexibility, but unions fear it undermines workers’ negotiating power and collective labour rights. On 14 October, a second general strike had brought much of the country to a standstill as thousands of workers protested against the proposed law and demanded the restoration of collective bargaining alongside wage increases. Unions said the changes legalise over-exploitation and threaten work-life balance.
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For more information, please contact Paul de Beer or Oana Ciuca, De Burcht (Scientific Bureau for the Dutch Trade Union Movement) p.t.debeer@uva.nl or the Head of communications at the ETUI, Mehmet Koksal mkoksal@etui.org. For previous full issues of the Collective bargaining newsletter please visit https://www.etui.org/Newsletters/Collective-bargaining-newsletter or consult the archive with all articles in our database at www.cbnarchive.eu.
You may find further information on the ETUI at www.etui.org.