Albert Heijn workers to continue strikes next week as talks of no use, says union

Workers at Albert Heijn distribution centers will continue to strike next week as the FNV has no intention of resuming collective bargaining with the supermarket company, said union executive Levin Zühlke-van Hulzen.

"The basis for continuing the talks is a 10 percent wage increase and no worsening of working conditions. Those are the preconditions, and Albert Heijn is not meeting them. So there is little point in talking," Zühlke-van Hulzen argued. "We were very lenient. Originally, we asked for a 14 percent wage increase," he stated.

Albert Heijn had previously proposed an 8 percent wage increase, but the unions thought that was too little. A spokesperson for the supermarket group stressed that the company wants to hold further talks. "We want to see if we can reach a result together, and we are ready to take steps.Not only in terms of the wage offer, but also in terms of other aspects of the collective agreement," the spokesperson said earlier in the day. "But in order to do that, both sides have to be willing to do something.”

According to the union representative, the strikes will continue in the coming days at the distribution sites in Zaandam, Zwolle, Geldermalsen, Pijnacker and in Tilburg. "The shelves will become more and more empty in the coming days."

According to Zühlke-van Hulzen, the distribution center in Zwolle was completely shut down on Saturday afternoon. "So far, almost exclusively Albert Heijn employees were on strike, but this afternoon the temporary workers joined the strike and stopped working. Work is now completely at a standstill there," he said. For instance, temporary workers at the distribution center in Zwolle are not being deterred. Despite intimidation from the company, at least 100 workers walked out spontaneously, reported the union on Twitter.

The strike affects almost half of the chain's supermarkets, according to Albert Heijn, Exactly how big the impact is differs per store. Sometimes it is noticed that, for example, the fruit and vegetable shelf and the bread racks are much emptier than normal. It also happens that people miss out on products with a longer shelf life.