Temporary workers at Albert Heijn distribution centers to go on strike on Wednesday

Hundreds of temporary workers will go on strike starting Wednesday at Albert Heijn distribution centers. They will take action because they want improved conditions in the collective labor agreement, the FNV union has announced. The strikes will start at the distribution center in Geldermalsen and Pijnacker, but strikes at other locations and companies may follow.

It is not yet clear what impact the strikes will have on the Albert Heijn stores. Almost half of the people in the distribution centers are temporary workers. FNV Director Karin Heynsdijk has said that the temporary workers in the distribution centers are usually working as order pickers, something that rarely gets performed by permanent employees. With this, Heynsdijk has said that the temporary workers are very important in keeping the distribution center running.

The union is demanding that temporary workers receive at least the same employment conditions as permanent employees of their clients. If this is not possible, then there should be clearly defined compensation. Earlier, the FNV had sent an ultimatum to the employers’ organizations in the temporary employment sector, ABU, and NBBU about this. That ultimatum has now expired.

Albert Heijn emphasized in a response that they are not a party in the conflict between the unions and the temporary employment agencies regarding the collective labor agreement. “This collective labor agreement is completely unrelated to our collective labor agreement for the logistics workers,” a spokesperson said. “We monitoring the situation and are doing everything we can to limit eventual disruptions as much as possible.”