Strikes threaten Father’s Day shopping as Gall & Gall, Etos, Kruidvat face walkouts

Father's Day shoppers could face disruptions on Sunday as staff at Etos and Kruidvat are set to strike, according to trade union FNV. Anyone hoping to pick up drinks for Father's Day or the Netherlands' upcoming World Cup game may also encounter disruptions with FNV saying that staff at liquor retailer Gall & Gall will walk out, leading to the closure of dozens of stores across the country.

The union says it is unhappy with proposals put forward by employers during negotiations over a new collective labour agreement for drugstore employees, including plans to cut Sunday premium pay by 50%.

"If the company wants its stores to be open on Sundays, then employees should receive a 100 percent Sunday premium," said FNV official Cindy Onvlee. She argues that by reducing the premium, employees would effectively be paying for the proposed 4.5 percent wage increase themselves.

The Vereniging van Drogisterij- en aanverwante Filiaalbedrijven, which negotiates on behalf of employers, has argued that Sunday pay rates for drugstore staff should match those offered elsewhere in the retail sector. The group also expressed disappointment that FNV chose to leave the collective bargaining negotiations.

The exact scale of the disruption remains unclear, with no indication yet of how many stores will shut their doors. Alongside Kruidvat and Etos, FNV has extended the strike call to employees at Holland & Barrett and Trekpleister. Trekpleister and Kruidvat are both part of the same parent company, A.S. Watson Group

The Gall & Gall strike follows two similar actions last month, when dozens of Gall & Gall branches were also forced to shut their doors, according to the union.

The two-day strike is aimed at pressuring parent company Ahold Delhaize into improving its labour agreement offer. FNV says employees oppose plans to cut Sunday bonuses by 50% and believe the proposed 3.5% pay rise falls short of their demands.

“We have been waiting for a substantially better offer for the collective labour agreement, but it is not coming. In particular, halving the Sunday premium hits a group of employees especially hard and is causing a lot of resentment,” FNV Handel board member Jethro Warbroek said.

FNV estimates that Gall & Gall employs about 1,800 staff across some 600 stores in the Netherlands.

A Gall & Gall spokesperson said the company’s proposal is a “carefully constructed, market-aligned package” that aims to balance employee appreciation with healthy business operations.

The liquor retailer has, meanwhile, according to the spokesperson, offered to keep the Sunday premium pay for all current employees unchanged for the next four years instead of three. “Unfortunately, FNV has not accepted earlier offers to return to the negotiating table; other unions have meanwhile presented the offer to their members,” the spokesperson added.