Netherlands -Cleaners actions continue -January 30, 2012

Backed by the FNV Bondgenoten union, thousands of cleaners continue their strike combined with actions in various Dutch cities. According to their spokespersons, employers and principals have yet not adequately responded on the issues that keep parties from reaching an agreement for 150,000 employed such as sick pay, enough time to do the job properly, and more respect and appreciation on the job. On 13 January, 2,500 cleaners took part in a “March for Respect” in The Hague. A temporary suspension of the actions and a lowering of pay demand from 5 to 2.5% did not result in any change in the position of the OSB employers' association. In reaction the cleaners and their union have decided to new actions, including marches in Utrecht and Groningen. Meanwhile, and though the OSB says this does not contribute to a solution of the conflict, some principals have announced to lower work pressure for cleaners, notably Dutch Railways (NS), the Rotterdam Polytechnic and the Rotterdam municipality (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 4 December 2011).

English: http://www.uniglobalunion.org/Apps/uni.nsf/pages/homepageEn?Opend … ;  
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/220846.html

Dutch: De Volkskrant, 23 and 26 January 2011; http://www.fnvbondgenoten.nl/nieuws/nieuwsarchief/2012/januari...

 

This article was published in the Collective Bargaining Newsletter. It aims to facilitate information exchange between trade unions and to support the work of ETUC's collective bargaining committee. For more information, please contact the editor Maarten van Klaveren, Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies (AIAS) M.vanKlaveren@uva.nl or the communications officer of the ETUI, Mariya Nikolova mnikolova@etui.org. You may find further information on the ETUI at www.etui.org, and on the AIAS at www.uva-aias.net. © ETUI aisbl, Brussels 2012.