Court bans police strike at Cybersecurity conference

On Wednesday morning the court ruled that the work strike announced by police unions around the Global Conference on Cyberspace is not allowed to take place. The police unions urged all colleagues who are working on Thursday around the Global Conference on Cyberspace in the Hague World Forum to attend union meetings that day. This is in protest against the unfavorable collective bargaining agreement. The Safety and Security Service was excluded from the action to ensure the safety of those attending the conference. The force management, who is responsible for the safety measures, and the State of the Netherlands, who organized the conference, concluded that they can not guarantee the safety of the conference if so many of the officers are striking. According to the force management, the police have more to do during the conference than just the essential police surveillance and protection and this action would endanger the safety and the maintenance of public order. The force management and the State therefore turned to the court, who proceeded to rule in their favor. The police unions have organized several actions to protest against the collective bargaining agreement. These actions included painting a large sign on the trail of the Rotterdam Marathon, only writing tickets for very serious offenses, driving slowly on the highway and sounding sirens.