Netherlands

In the Netherlands, members of the Federation of Dutch Trade Unions (FNV) have been threatened and intimidated on several occasions by representatives of the Tempo Team employment agency.

FNV members were standing on the public road at a PostNL location to talk to employees about their terms of employment and working conditions, in the framework of the ongoing negotiation of the PostNL and temporary employment collective agreement.

A Tempo Team representative approached them in an aggressive manner, forbidding any contact between FNV members and the Tempo Team employees and ordering the trade unionists to leave. He then called for backup from management. FNV attempted to approach the workers. However, every time they did, one representative of the Tempo Team management would come between them and would tell the temporary workers that Tempo Team did not allow them to talk to the FNV.

In the Netherlands, The Federation of Dutch Trade Unions (FNV), has been trying for over 15 years to reach a collective agreement in the meat processing industry, especially over access of union officials to the workplace. For decades, trade union officials who have tried to hand out flyers on parking lots were met with intimidation and attacks by employers, who even declared that they would only allow access of their premises to trade union officials when legally forced to do so. The meat sector has a high percentage of migrant workers who are particularly vulnerable to abuse and precarious working conditions.

It was very common in the Netherlands for digital platforms such as Uber and Deliveroo to refuse to comply with a collective agreement, despite a court ruling ordering them to do so.

In the Netherlands, employers often negotiated with yellow unions or the companies’ works council to adopt pay cuts. For example, travel company TUI refused to enter into collective bargaining with The Federation of Dutch Trade Unions (FNV), despite a petition to do so by hundreds of workers. Instead, TUI intended to enter negotiations with its own established group. The FNV had to seek remedy in court.

There is no legislation in the country ensuring that only independent trade unions are allowed to conclude collective agreements, or that trade unions take precedence over works councils. As a result, where unions decide on a collective action in the context of a negotiation, employers can undermine the union’s position, simply by concluding an agreement with yellow unions or works councils.