As of today, a number of pharmacists employed by the organization BENU, part of Brocacef, will close their doors in relay during the mornings. They want their own collective labor agreement, with good agreements about indexation, payment, staffing and replacement schemes. Several pharmacists are also joining in Drenthe, says Luci van Delden from Emmen.
Van Delden is a pharmacist in the Angelslo district and also a board member of the pharmacists’ union VVBA. “We had already concluded a draft deal. But that deal was swept off the table without mercy,” she says. The activists of the three-year-old union do not feel that they are being taken seriously. After actions in the autumn of 2022, negotiations with the BENU management were reopened, but that too has yielded too little in the opinion of the pharmacists.
Pharmacists do not yet have their own collective labor agreement. “Not for years,” says Van Delden. “We want a collective labor agreement in which we can lay down employment conditions, such as remuneration, part-time work and days off. We just want that arranged.”
According to Van Delden, it is unclear why the management brushed aside the offer. “That was quite unexpected for us. We don’t feel that we are seen by the gentlemen of the management,” she sighs. “We really didn’t demand anything crazy. There are strikes in all kinds of sectors, but the percentage of wage increases that we ask for is just below what is happening elsewhere.”
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