Police protest ministers, gov’t offices as contract talks stall

By Janene Pieters on September 16, 2015 - 08:23
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Police officers gather in The Hague to protest for a better collective bargaining agreement, September 16th, 2015 (Picture: Twitter/@NynkeBonsma). (Police officers gather in The Hague to protest for a better collective bargaining agreement, September 16th, 2015 (Picture: Twitter/@NynkeBonsma))

Thousands of police officers will be blocking the entrances of a number of ministries in the Hague on Wednesday in another protest for a better collective bargaining agreement.

The affected ministries include General Affairs, Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations, Finance and Security and Justice. The unions expect that about 5 thousand police officers will be participating in this action, according to broadcaster NOS.

The police officers will form a human chain around the buildings. They will be blocking the buildings until 1:00 p.m. Afterwards the officers will go to the Malieveld to demonstrate.

As so many police officers will be participating in this action, a large number of police stations will be closed between 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Police officers will only be responding to emergencies. On Tuesday a number of police stations was also closed for four hours in protest of the lack of a proper collective bargaining agreement.

The police unions have been protesting for a better agreement for months. The government has put an offer on the table of a 5 percent wage increase and a once of payment of 500 euros, but according to the unions, this comes at the expense of pensions.

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