Workers at Heineken breweries on strike for a better collective bargaining agreement

Employees of the Heineken breweries in Zoeterwoude and Den Bosch and the company’s headquarters in Amsterdam went on strike on Wednesday morning, board members of trade unions FNV and CNV confirmed. The production in those breweries is at a complete standstill, said Nurettin Altundal, chairman at FNV.

The employees are striking due to their displeasure at the fact that the conversations about a new collective bargaining agreement have stalled. The trade unions want to use the strike to send a “powerful message” and force Heineken into coming up with a better proposition. More actions are expected to take place next week if this does not happen.

“We are receiving messages that production may still be ongoing in Zoeterwoude, but there are all kinds of safety risks involved. So the question is whether Heineken wants to do that with a limited number of people," said Altundal of FNV.

According to Mirjam van Leussen, who is a negotiator at CNV, 80 percent of the employees in Zoeterwoude have stopped working. "The turnout in Den Bosch is also good," she said.

The collective bargaining agreements for the breweries, commercial branch, and the International Heineken Group expire at the end of this year.

FNV and CNV had given the beer manufacturer until Monday afternoon to come up with a new offer. FNV is asking for a seven percent salary increase, while CNV is asking for a five percent increase.

A spokesperson for Heineken confirmed that work is at a standstill. “We invite the unions to return to the talks, we were not finished negotiating,” said the spokesperson. He added that Heineken has enough beer in stock for the time being."Both the catering industry and retail do not have to worry about that."

According to the spokesperson, the strike at the head office is a lot less lively. "It concerns exactly five people." He cannot say how much production Heineken will miss due to the strike.