Around 150 ABN AMRO employees will take part in a strike on Tuesday to protest against the cabinet’s planned cuts to social security, trade union FNV reported.
The bank employees joined a nationwide demonstration in The Hague. Government workers will carry a briefcase containing alternative proposals as they march to the Ministry of Finance.
The cabinet’s plans to cut spending on unemployment benefits and disability insurance have sparked the protests. FNV described the timing as “particularly bitter”, as ABN AMRO plans to eliminate jobs in the coming years.
“You pay premiums for years, and just when you need it, the safety net is pulled out from under you,” said FNV board member Arne Gorter. “We do not accept that.”
The union is organising a broad wave of action ahead of Prinsjesdag, with strikes and demonstrations taking place across several sectors and locations in the Netherlands.
Complete nonsense
ABN AMRO said the strike would not affect services for customers. “We respect the right of employees to participate in collective actions, and employees are free to make their own choice in this matter,” the bank said.
The minority cabinet has already withdrawn part of the proposed austerity measures and postponed others by one year. However, trade unions said the concessions did not go far enough to cancel the planned protests and strikes.
On Friday, Minister Hans Vijlbrief of Social Affairs again urged the unions to return to the negotiating table. FNV chair Hans Spekman dismissed the invitation as “absolute nonsense”.
@anp | NEWS BRAINPORT
