Amsterdam civil servants to strike Monday morning

Amsterdam civil servants will stop working on Monday morning, following similar strikes in Almere, Tilburg, and Rotterdam last week. These are workers who handle city cleaning, such as garbage collectors, as well as the special investigating officers (BOAs) who help enforce laws on the street, and employees of municipal offices.

The work stoppage will last from 9 a.m. to noon.

The work interruption can affect the waste collection, cleaning, enforcement, and staffing levels at counters in city offices, warned the municipality. Minimum staffing is guaranteed at many civil services “so that we can carry out emergency work as much as possible."

A number of trash collection points will be closed during the work stoppage. "It is possible that bulk waste can remain on the street a little longer than usual, and containers for residual waste, paper, glass, and textiles may be emptied at another day or time," said the municipality.

Furthermore, the waiting time at the walk-up desks and counters may take longer than usual, trash bins may remain full, and streets may be swept at a later time. "We aim to catch up with the backlog due to the work interruption as quickly as possible," the municipality said. It is still unclear how many civil servants will stop working in the capital.

Trade union FNV wants to enforce a better collective bargaining agreement by organizing the work interruption. There are over 187,000 workers covered by the contract, according to FNV. The union issued an ultimatum in mid-November after collective bargaining with the Association of Dutch Municipalities (VNG) hit a standstill.

The municipalities offered a wage increase of 5 percent on February 1 and another 3 percent on April 1, 2024. FNV, on the other hand, wants a wage increase of 12 percent for one year. The union has also demanded automatic wage increases along with inflation in the collective bargaining agreement for 2024.