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11/1 Jurists want to stay in Oudemanhuispoort

8/2 Mayor’s portrait

8/2 Websites for social cohesion

7/2 Spreading tourism proceeds with difficulty

7/2 GroenLinks on districts: Be a man

6/2 Zuideramstel opens new office on Sabbath

5/2 The truth about integration

4/2 Wilders has little support on Amsterdam

3/2 Elite involved in neighbourhood

2/2 Johnnie Walker avoids taxes in Amsterdam

1/2 Rotterdam to tinker with district councils as well

31/1 Wooden rowing boats to disappear from Amstel

31/1 ZeeburgTV launched

27/1 Privacy activists to mess up loyalty card system

27/1 A few were still coughing, but that was an act

27/1 Chrisis in de Baarsjes

26/1 Youth have positive view of districts

24/1 Action groups call for Carmel and Jaffa boycott

24/1 PvdA members dismiss plan for districts

23/1 KLM takes on crisis with new uniform

23/1 District office not squatted

21/1 Merge districts

20/1 Closing squat bar Vrankrijk not necessary

20/1 Cleaners welcome new Schiphol director

18/1 Palestine at the Jewish Historical Museum

18/1 What is the right size for a district?

17/1 PvdA Oost against fewer districts

16/1 Committee: 7 districts by 2010

15/1 Soldiers may attend Afghanistan debate after all

15/1 Bait bike leads to arrest

14/1 Youth for Christ to republish vacancies

13/1 Paintings of the Zuidas

13/1 New Youth for Christ contoversy

11/1 Social cohesion initiative raises eyebrows

10/1 Fewer districts in 2010

10/1 Zuidas: People feel that we are losers

9/1 Fun on the ice - but not for all

9/1 Supermarket coupon fraud thwarted

9/1 I Amsterdam must remain exclusive

8/1 Use term Apartheid in every discussion

8/1 No city kiosk in Amsterdam yet

7/1 Snow

7/1 Fatima Elatik to run Zeeburg

7/1 Municipal managers to return to shop floor

4/1 Police: take photo of strange people

3/1 Gaza protest criticises politicians

1/1 Thousands to protest against attacks on Gaza

1/1 Mustapha Laboui leaves district council

 

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Unique cleaners’ campaign wins 10 euro contract

30 January 2008 - Cleaners have won higher wages, vocational training, language courses and a more transparent collective agreement. This is the outcome of a campaign that brought direct action to the ING and ABN Amro bank headquarters at the Zuidas and to Schiphol Airport.

Yesterday, trade union FNV Bondgenoten and employers’ organisation OSB reached a tentative agreement. Apart from the increase in wages, from 8.90 to 10.00 euro per hour, the contract contains a unique agreement on integration courses for new workers.

The campaign itself was unique too, at least for the Netherlands. A combination of grass roots organising, direct action and broad coalitions brought pressure on the employers and their contractors. In Amsterdam, cleaners and activists accompanied by a samba band and rebel clowns stormed the ING Bank headquarters and gave a guerrilla concert at Schiphol Airport.

The organising campaign will not stop once union members have approved the new contract. Worker activists will be trained to enforce the new agreement and to campaign on workplace issues. In addition, contractors of cleaning companies will be encouraged to adopt socially responsible contractor policies.

Next Saturday, the cleaners’ campaign will be among the examples to be discussed at a meeting on new urban union campaigns at de Balie.

FNV Bondgenoten (in Dutch), campaign website, de Balie

 

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