“Even after a number of successful strikes in various provinces and our 24-hour strike last week, employers still refuse to agree on a good collective labor agreement,” says FNV Labor Coordinator Denis Veregen. He added, “This is why we will now increase the pressure even more and will go on strike for two days. We will continue until our demands are met.”
According to the union, about six thousand people work in the timber trade. The previous collective labor agreement expired in March. FNV previously sent an ultimatum including collective labor agreement requirements to the Royal Association of Dutch Timber Companies (VVNH). The Employers’ Organization rejected this warning.
The FNV wants employers in the timber trade to include a structural increase in all monthly salaries totaling €100 and an additional wage increase of 6 percent.
It is not yet clear what the impact of the new strike will be. According to VVNH, the impact of the first national strike day has recently been limited. Employers were under the impression that only a “very small group” went on strike.
The employers’ organization responded: “We have not received any letters from companies stating that they have not received the wood.” FNV, in turn, reported more than four hundred strikes.
