Childcare workers continue strike campaign

Netherlands

On 14 September 660 childcare facilities across the country were hit by national strike action coordinated by the FNV trade union. This is part of a campaign, running since July, that has involved regional stoppages as well as an earlier day of national strike action. The union wants the employers to negotiate a collective agreement that includes concrete measures to tackle excessive workloads and unpredictable working hours. The FNV says that the employers are looking to the government for solutions but argues that there are practical measures that the employers could take such as hiring support staff who could deal with cleaning and administration so that staff can spend more time with children. The union also wants to see changes to the current working time arrangements that mean that some workers have a contract for 18 hours but must be available for over a period of 40 hours. The FNV says that it will plan further action if there is no response from the employers.

FNV

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