On October 6, IUF affiliate FNV and its Cargill members went on strike across five Cargill sites in the Netherlands: Sas van Gent, Bergen Op Zoom, Rotterdam/Botlek, Deventer, and Cargill’s Amsterdam multi-seed site. The strike has been called by FNV and its Cargill members due primarily to the gap between Cargill’s offer and the union’s wage demands in collective bargaining negotiations for a 2023/2024 agreement.
- FNV and its members are seeking a one-year collective bargaining (labour) agreement with a wage increase of 100 euros per month plus a 7% wage increase with retroactive effect to August 1, 2023; Cargill is offering a 2.25% wage increase over 20 months
- Cargill is also seeking to reduce other benefits, including an automatic inflation indexation provision previously negotiated between FNV and Cargill in 2022; furthermore, Cargill does not want to recognize May 5 as an annual holiday – Liberation Day in the Netherlands
FNV Food Industry union official Nurettin Altundal stated, “All sites are now on strike. All production lines have been completely shut down. This is really going to hurt the company. We assume that they will want to sit down with us again soon. Until then, there will continue to be a strike.”
