Over 1,000 mechanics to strike for 48 hours from Thursday against low wage increases

At least 1,000 mechanics and workers at bicycle related businesses all over the country will go on strike on Thursday and Friday, the FNV reported. The trade union announced this measure because the sector organization BOVAG has not improved its collective bargaining agreement offer after regional and national strikes.

FNV board member Murat Sekercan has said that workers in all provinces, with the exception of Groningen and Friesland, will go on strike. The employees in these two provinces are expected to quit their work for 48 hours next week.

He expects hundreds of car and bicycle companies to be closed either completely or partly on Thursday and Friday, especially branches owned by larger companies. This will lead to people having to wait longer for maintenance on their cars, he said.

The collective bargaining agreement that is the reason for the strikes concerns 84,500 people, the FNV said. The trade union is demanding a wage increase of seven percent in a collective bargaining agreement of a year, but BOVAG does not want to go over 2.3 percent.

Strikes also occurred throughout the Netherlands earlier this month. Hundreds of workers participated in this. The strikes in the southern part of the country were delayed by a week due to the carnival.

Other unions, including CNV and De Unie, will also participate in the strikes. CNV wants a wage increase of six percent for a year so that the employees can have a stronger purchasing power.

BOVAG has said that it is a “shame” that workers are going on strike, but it is “their right,” a spokesperson said. “We feel this was not necessary and will cause significant nuisance for companies, customers, and employees who do not go on strike.”

He stated that the organization feels that the offer of over three percent for 18 months will compensate for the inflation in 2024 and that the wage demands of the FNV are not achievable for the sector.