Soldiers to "lay siege" on Ministry of Defense in contract talks dispute

The Ministry of Defense will be "under siege" from its own staff on Friday. Soldiers will block all entrances and exits of the Ministry's building in a labor action for better working conditions, the military unions announced, ANP reports.

Defense's military and civilian workers have been without a collective bargaining agreement since 2013, according to the news wire. Negotiations for a new agreement stranded in the spring. The unions rejected a final offer by the Ministry, which included a wage increase of 2 percent and money for training.

The action in The Hague on Friday takes place between 11:15 a.m and 12:45 p.m.

Last month the Koninklijke Marechaussee - a policing force that works as part of the Dutch military - already performed actions at the airports of Rotterdam and Eindhoven.