Angry teachers call for nationwide strike of the public sector

The primary school teachers behind trade union PO in Actie are calling for a nationwide strike of the Dutch public sector. They want police officers, nurses, defence personnel and teachers to go on strike together in The Hague on October 2.

Open letter from PO in Actie in AD

“Punitive regulatory pressure, red tape and a shortage of colleagues cause increasing work pressure in all public sectors,” said Jan van de Ven and Thijs Roovers from PO in Actie in an open letter in newspaper AD.

“The whole public sector is in trouble. Yet the government is scrapping the tax on dividends, thereby giving large corporations 2 billion euros per year,” says van de Ven. “We keep hearing that there is no money, but there is always money. They are simply making political choices.”

Better salaries for primary teachers in the Netherlands

This is not the first time that PO in Actie has called for a strike. Last October, PO in Actie organised a demonstration in Zuiderpark in The Hague to get better salaries for primary teachers. More than 60.000 teachers attended this demonstration, and primary schools closed for several days.

Dutch healthcare sector is interested

The healthcare sector has signalled their interest in a strike, says AD. Founder of Facebook page “Zorg in Actie”, Marijke Volgers, says: “Many healthcare workers find it ridiculous that two billion euros is going to foreign shareholders of large corporations, whilst healthcare can take a hike.”