Gov't still wants temporary early retirement scheme, union says; Strike willingness high
The government’s proposal for a new early retirement scheme for people with physically taxing jobs is again of a temporary nature, trade union FNV said. The government also wants to limit the number of people who can qualify. Half (48 percent) of workers are willing to strike multiple times for a decent early retirement scheme, and a third are willing to go on a long-term strike until a scheme is in place, trade union CNV reported.
According to FNV, the proposal that Minister Eddy van Hijum of Social Affairs and Employment presented last week states that the early retirement scheme must be reviewed every three years. “This way, we will have this unrest again every three years, and no one knows where they stand,” the union told ANP. The proposal also states that only 15,000 people per year, and only people above a certain income limit can qualify for the scheme.
The current early retirement scheme expires next year. The trade unions have been campaigning for a decent replacement for months.
The police started by not issuing fines in May and then escalated to closing police stations to the public, holding noise protests, and not deploying cops to Eredivisie matches. The Klassieker between Feyenoord and Ajax in De Kuip was canceled as a result. And the upcoming match between Ajax and FC Utrecht is on shaky ground.
Today, cleaners nationwide, including at Schiphol Airport and NS stations, are on strike. On Wednesday, there will be a national public transport strike. NS and regional public transport workers will not work between 4:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m.
According to the trade union CNV, the willingness to strike is high. “This week, parts of the country will be paralyzed several times to force the government to come up with a better arrangement whereby people with a taxing profession can stop earlier,” CNV chairman Piet Fortuin said. “Everyone in the Netherlands will notice this strike. Rightly so: it is unacceptable that there is still no good arrangement for people with taxing professions.”
