After a week of slow-down action by pharmacists that didn’t yield results from employers, the Dutch trade unions FNV and CNV have announced that pharmacists in the regions of Katwijk and Leiden are going on strike from 1.30pm on Monday, September 9.
Employers at pharmacies in the Netherlands were given an ultimatum to draw up an acceptable collective labour agreement with pharmacy workers or face strikes. With no satisfactory reaction from employers, punctuality actions have been taking place since last week, where workers only do their jobs during formal working hours and not work overtime.
“The workload in pharmacies is so high that even working your hours properly is already a form of activism,” said CNV negotiator Albert Spieseke in a press release. This means that during punctuality actions, pharmacists no longer work before their shifts or overtime without pay and are also taking proper breaks.
However, this hasn’t resulted in the changes that the unions are calling for. The unions have now initiated phase two with regional strikes. Pharmacists in the regions of Katwijk and Leiden will go on strike today and if demands are not met, national strikes could follow. At the same time, punctuality action will continue in pharmacies throughout the Netherlands.
According to FNV director Ralph Smeets, some pharmacists are paid barely more than minimum wage and those in hospitals earn much less than workers at public pharmacies. “That has to change very quickly,” said Smeets. “That is why we started with punctuality actions last week, but they did not help. So now it is time for phase two: we are going on strike.”
“Customer focus and loyalty in the sector are very high, but employers do not offer much in return,” said Spieseke. “The wage offer for this year was stuck at 2 percent, while wages are already low.” This has led to a high turnover rate in hospital pharmacies and the walkouts happening today. “If these regional strikes do not bring any movement to the negotiations, a national strike is a logical next step.”