Work

Last week, refuse piled up at stations and in trains; today, cleaners at Schiphol Airport have joined the national strike. The cleaners demand decent pay, travel expenses and Dutch language courses during work hours. Presently, they earn less than ten euro per hour.

Today, over a thousand cleaners protested at a car park at Schiphol. The municipality would not let them hold the meeting at Schiphol Plaza, according to the union.

Candidate council members want to cut spending on civil servants. In addition, VVD members want to make cutbacks on subsidies, community centres, art and other ‘left-wing hobbies’. This is the outcome of an analysis of 169 candidate profiles published on the News from Amsterdam website.

The mayor and aldermen of Amsterdam want no pay rise in the new collective agreement, because employees are also asked to accept a salary freeze. Trade union ABVAKABO FNV says this is an empty gesture. Next Wednesday, sanitation workers in Amsterdam will go on strike.

“We think it’s unacceptable to ask our employees to accept a salary freeze, when this doesn’t apply to us, the employers,” Alderwoman Marijke Vos (photo) stated in a letter to Minister Guusje ter Horst.

Cleaner Carlos Fuentes was told by his employer Asito that he may not carry union pamphlets or talk to co-workers at Schiphol Airport. He received a letter threatening that otherwise the Military Police – responsible for security at the airport – will be called in, trade union FNV Bondgenoten has announced.

Union official Linda Voortman speaks of ‘downright intimidation’. “Asito wants to silence cleaners who inform co-workers about their rights.” The cleaners are campaigning for a better collective agreement and for being treated with respect. Later this month, new actions at Schiphol and elsewhere in Amsterdam have been announced.

Cleaners are going to campaign for decent wages and training and against work pressure and intimidation. They are supported by a number of Amsterdam politicians including District Mayors Fatima Elatik and Ahmed Marcouch (PvdA) and MPs Sadet Karabulut and Patricia Linhard (PvdA). “We’re not just supporting you today, but also at future protests. If necessary, we’ll stand on the barricades,” Elatik said.

This afternoon, trade union FNV Bondgenoten organised the first Cleaners’ Parliament at City Hall, where a new chairman was elected and priorities for collective agreement negotiations were set. Negotiations reached a deadlock earlier this week, after employers said they wanted to freeze wages because of the crisis.

Union FNV Bondgenoten will be organising an action at Ikea Zuidoost next Thursday to protest against security staff at Ikea Poland being denied membership of the Solidarnosc union. FNV Bondgenoten hopes that Ikea Netherlands will take a stand against the policies of the Polish branch.

Mari Martens (FNV Bondgenoten): “With the support of Ikea Poland, security firm Solid Security is pressurising its employees. They are given a choice: either quit the Solidarnosc union or lose their job. That’s pure intimidation and a violation of international labour laws.”

This week, there will also be actions at the Ikea branches in Delft and Heerlen. The actions are organised in collaboration with UNI Global Union, to which Solidarnosc is affiliated as well.

A solution must be found for the employees of the almost bankrupt welfare organisation IJsterk. If the Centrum and Westerpark Districts refuse to make funds available, they will go on strike on Tuesday, trade union ABVAKABO FNV announced today.

As a result of the organisation’s problems, 250 people are at risk of losing their jobs. Further, employees are already experiencing problems because payment of their salaries has been put on hold. “I met someone who had only 2.50 euro in her wallet. She has no idea when she will be paid, but she does have to pay the bus fare to get to work in time,” Ben Hoogendam of ABVAKABO FNV told Het Parool.