Trade union FNV announces strike at chipmaker NXP in Nijmegen

Employees of the Dutch chipmaker NXP will strike next week for a better collective labor agreement. This was announced by the FNV trade union. The "first strike" will take place on Tuesday in Nijmegen where NXP has a large production location. According to the union, staff will then stop work for 24 hours.

FNV director Bernard van Iren said that striking is an "ultimate means" to change the minds of the top of the group. The union has been negotiating a new collective labor agreement for the approximately 3,000 NXP employees in the Netherlands for months. However, the management of the group with headquarters in Eindhoven does not want to increase wages as much as FNV demands.

"There is a lot of disappointment among the employees. They ensure that the company earns a very healthy living. The fact that the management does not want to share the cake with the people on the work floor is a painful observation and shows little sign of appreciation," said Van Iren.

NXP says it does not understand FNV's 9 percent wage demand and calls it "irresponsible". "The cost increase as a result of FNV's total package of requirements is well into double figures. FNV's salary requirement does not come close to the inflation of 3.8 percent for 2023, or the current forecast of 2.9 percent for 2024," a spokesperson said.

He points out that the company has already increased salaries last year by at least 7 to 11 percent, giving a one-off compensation of 1.5 to 2.5 percent and a bonus of at least 6 percent. "The demands put forward by FNV are higher than their last offer at the negotiating table, so FNV is negotiating backwards."

The company says it will continue discussions with the other unions, VHP2, De Unie, and CNV, and invites FNV to continue negotiating a new collective labor agreement.

It is not yet clear exactly how many employees will go on strike on Tuesday. FNV immediately announced that it may not stop at this campaign. "More strikes cannot be ruled out," the union said.

FNV had already sent the company an ultimatum, threatening strikes at the chip manufacturer. The association did not receive the desired response, which is why it is now taking real action.