Schiphol customs to check all arriving passengers until 1:30 p.m. in pay protest
Customs officers at Schiphol Airport will begin a so-called punctuality campaign at 12 p.m. Tuesday in baggage reclaim halls 3 and 4, checking all arriving passengers—including those who normally have nothing to declare—until 1:30 p.m., Schiphol reports. The officers say the extra inspections are a protest against a government pay freeze, aimed at showing how important their work is.
Schiphol warned passengers Monday to expect extra waiting time and to follow instructions from airport staff. “We understand that this is annoying for travelers who have just completed a flight,” the airport said in a statement.
“We facilitate the right to demonstrate while remaining alert to ensuring that everything proceeds safely and in an orderly manner. All of Schiphol’s efforts are focused on that,” Schiphol added.
The action is part of a protest by customs employees against a pay freeze for civil servants, which includes no salary increase and no inflation adjustment. The campaign, according to the employees, aims to focus the national government's attention on their pay and benefits.
The unions FNV, CNV, and AC Rijksvakbonden emphasized that the action is aimed at the government, not at Schiphol or travelers. The unions called the resulting disruption “genuinely inconvenient” and said customs officers are being “pushed into a corner by the cabinet.” “This action is explicitly not a conflict with Schiphol or with travelers, but with the national government, which is letting down its own employees,” they said.
Similar customs actions are taking place Tuesday in the ports of Rotterdam and Vlissingen, where officers are also carrying out additional inspections.
