Apple reseller Amac facing possible employee strike on Sunday

Employees of the Dutch retail chain Amac are planning labor actions on Sunday, the last day before Christmas. The day is typically one of the busiest shopping days of the year.

Workers at the Apple reseller are insisting that management reintroduce additional wage bonuses for employees who are scheduled for shifts on Sundays. Amac employees were always paid 150 percent of their wages for working on Sundays, but Amac ended the arrangement over the summer. Managers at the retail chain remain opposed to bringing back the higher Sunday wage, said labor union FNV.

The union has demanded that the allowance be restored, and gave Amac management until Saturday to do so. The FNV said there was no commitment from management to resolve the issue, so the demonstrations will go ahead on Sunday at various locations around the Netherlands.

FNV union leader Onur Erdem said the staff is extremely disappointed with their employer. He has not exactly what these labor actions might be, but Amac's 50 stores in the Netherlands plan to remain open. "There will be actions at a number of stores to ask shoppers for solidarity," said Erdem.

"This is a growing company with a profit of 2.3 million euros, but in the meantime the people in the stores only earn the minimum wage," Erdem said. He added it was "incomprehensible" for Amac to further reduce workers' paychecks. About 800 people work at Amac, the union said.

Amac CEO Ed Bindels said that he will not consider reintroducing the Sunday bonus. His staff will already see their wages improve by an average of 30 percent starting next year. "During these negotiations, the Sunday allowance was terminated."

Moreover, FNV is not a partner involved in contract talks at Amac, Bindels said. "We do not have a collective labor agreement, and we coordinate everything with our works council."