UNI Europa stands with temporary workers holding their first-ever strike for fair treatment in the Netherlands. Together with their unions FNV, CNV and De Unie, the workers have been in months of negotiation for a collective agreement that would guarantee equal pay, fairness and respect.
The negotiations between unions and employers had begun back in January – with the employers’ organisations ABU and NBBU refusing to come to an agreement. On 5 June 2025, FNV issued an ultimatum. Instead of negotiating in good faith, ABU and NBBU decided to disregard the Netherlands’ biggest unions and sign a window-dressing agreement with the yellow union LBV.
“Temporary workers demand equal treatment, clear rights and protection. The time for arbitrariness is over,” said Karin Heynsdijk, director of FNV Flex. “And when employers cannot get their way in collective bargaining negotiations and refuse to agree to equal pay for equal work with the regular unions but instead make a deal with an organisation calling itself a union, which has not been at the bargaining table since November 2021 and is not a dialogue partner in any national discussions with employers or the government and then conclude a three-year CLA (2026–2029) within one week, that is unacceptable”, he added.
Oliver Roethig, UNI Europa Regional Secretary, said: “We stand with Netherlands’ temporary workers on strike. UNI Europa is representative for social dialogue for temporary workers at EU level, participating in the EU sectoral social dialogue and working on establishing social dialogue for temporary workers. Like their colleagues across Europe, they deserve decent working conditions – and this can only be guaranteed through collective agreements with representative unions. We urge the employer organisations ABU and NBBU to listen to the demands of the Dutch unions.”