Employees of the Bijenkorf have felt for years that they earn too little and are finding it increasingly difficult to keep their heads above water. That is why today, on Black Friday, they are not behind the cash register but on Dam Square to protest. “We want to show that there is no sales without employees,” said Linda Vermeulen of the FNV.
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The demands of the employees, which have been drawn up in collaboration with the FNV, are crystal clear: “We want a ten percent wage increase for everyone.” The minimum wage must also be raised from 10.50 euros to 14 euros,” said Vermeulen.
Vermeulen is a trade union director at the FNV and will guide the employees during the strike today on Black Fridays and the smaller strikes that have taken place in recent weeks. Six times in total, without result.
“My best memory of all those years is the team feeling, a kind of family feeling”
As of January 1, the government wants to raise wages in the sector by 10 percent. “We say implement that wage increase for everyone, so that experience will also count in the salary,” says Vermeulen.
That this is not the case now can be clearly seen from the old pay slip of Anna Koperdraad, who has been working for the company for 36 years. “In 2003 I was 13.36 euros and now at 14.39 euros.” All this while the workload, partly due to the large staff shortage, was constantly increasing. “Confetti on the floor, making guests members in the app and continuously training new temps, knowing that they won’t stay long,” says Koperdraad.
Employees such as Koperdraad were satisfied with their salary because of the pleasure they have in their work: “If I hadn’t had such a good time, I wouldn’t be here anymore.” Her colleague Vera de Gruijl, who has also been in the company for 35 years, agrees. “My best memory of all those years of working is the team feeling, which can be compared to a kind of family feeling.”
Harrowing stories
But the raging inflation and the price increases caused a turnaround. “I really see colleagues around me who can no longer make it. That has been going on for a while, but nobody wants to air their dirty laundry. Now those harrowing stories are increasingly coming to the surface,” says De Gruijl.
That is why she will not only be standing on Dam Square for herself but also for her colleagues on Friday. “I also want to stand up for my colleagues, because not everyone can afford to strike. They cannot miss the salary or pay for membership of the union.”
In a statement, De Bijenkorf regrets not having reached a collective agreement. According to the department store, inflation is not the right starting point for wage negotiations: “After all, the government has taken measures to mitigate the consequences of inflation for people. It is therefore about the decrease in purchasing power. According to CBS, the expected decrease in purchasing power is 6.8 percent for 2022,” said a spokesman.
That is why employees receive a salary increase of 6 percent in parts. Copper wire got the first share, 3.5 percent, in October. As a result, her wages increased by 50 cents per hour to 14.39 euros. The second part will not be available until May.
Striking pays off
According to Rosa Kösters, strike researcher at the International Institute of Social History (IISH), it is unusual for Bijenkorf employees to go on strike. “The last major strike was in 1977 and that was not in the store but in the distribution center. “It doesn’t happen often in the sector because there isn’t really a trade union tradition in stores. “Why now? “The enormous inflation, major staff shortages and people seeing that striking pays off, these are ingredients that encourage strikes,” says Kösters.
Kösters refers to the strikes at the NS in September. “The NS strike has received so much attention and has yielded a lot more than a 9 percent wage increase. We know from research that it helps if there are also strikes in other places, we call that a strike wave.”
De Gruijls man works for the NS, he also went on strike in September. “I think 98 percent of the NS is a member of the union, everything was arranged very quickly. The whole country was affected. That’s why I think Black Friday is a good day to come across as serious. That we really mean business. “
About 200 employees of De Bijenkorf have registered for today’s strike.
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