Trade union FNV has reached an agreement with the Association of Netherlands Municipalities (VNG) in the negotiation about the pay increase for municipal officials. Employees in the lower pay scales receive the highest wage increase, namely 12 percent. The agreement means that the strike to collect the garbage in the city will be ended immediately.
Fred Bos of the FNV trade union, in the presence of alderman Van Buren, just announced this for the Stopera.
Municipal officials from, among others, the city cleaning and enforcement stopped work on Monday. The aim was a better collective labor agreement, trade union FNV went for a wage increase of between ten to twelve percent. The strike would last until Sunday.
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When the work was put on hold, the city center in particular turned into a large rubbish dump in a short time. The strike will therefore be broken off and the garbage collectors will get back to work. It will take some time before all the mess is cleaned up.
Councilor very pleased
“I am very satisfied with the agreement we have reached with the trade unions,” said Amsterdam alderman Hester van Buren, who sat at the negotiating table on behalf of the VNG. The lowest wage scales receive an additional 12 percent, which decreases slightly in the higher wage scales. The collective labor agreement is valid for one year.
“Especially that we succeeded in giving employees in the lower pay scales a relatively higher wage increase, so that they have more net left over,” continues Van Buren. “That was really necessary, because they feel the sharply increased cost of living the hardest, because they were hit the hardest in their wallets. The strike has now ended, but has made everyone in Amsterdam aware of how important our people are for a clean , safe and liveable city. Cleaning up and cleaning will take quite a few days.”