Laundry workers at several sites across the Netherlands will go on strike on Wednesday, trade union FNV has announced. The union said negotiations on a new collective labour agreement (CAO) have reached a complete standstill. The 24-hour strikes will take place at laundries in Hoogeveen, Bolsward, Hardenberg and Tiel.
The previous collective labour agreement expired at the end of August. A majority of union members rejected the employers’ final offer. FNV then issued an ultimatum, giving employers a chance to meet workers’ demands. According to the union, the employers did not respond.
“Then the employees have little choice but to take action,” said Ago di Giacomo Russo, a board member of FNV Industrie. The union estimates that around 400 workers will take part in the strike.
FNV is demanding a 6% structural pay rise, as well as automatic compensation for inflation. The union also wants employers to address what it describes as a high workload.
“People here perform heavy industrial work, often for relatively low wages and under high pressure. Moreover, employers refuse to listen seriously to their demands. This uncooperative attitude has only increased the willingness to take action,” Di Giacomo Russo said.
Arthur Linssen, director of trade associations FTN and Netex, said on Friday, when unions first threatened strike action, that employers regretted the situation. He noted that an agreement had been reached with the CNV union. According to Linssen, employers are offering a 4.3% wage increase and a one-off payment of €200 to most employees.
The textile care sector includes both large industrial laundries and smaller laundromats. Between 8,000 and 9,000 people work in the industry.
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