Dutch Unions Issue Strike Ultimatum to Vopak

zoom The Dutch CNV Vakmensen and FNV Haven unions, representing employees of the Rotterdam-based oil storage company Vopak, have issued a strike ultimatum to the company, ending today at 1 pm local time, after the sides failed to negotiate a new collective agreement for 800 workers. The unions demanded a 3% pay increase and guarantees that there will be no compulsory redundancies among other things, but the eight-day negotiations yielded no results. Ruus Wennekes, a negotiator from FNV Haven, said that Vopak was trying to pass poorer working conditions under the guise of modernization. Vopak calls this modernization of the collective agreement, but in practice this is simply a deterioration of the existing working conditions, said Wennekes. The unions say surprise industrial actions will be carried out across Vopaks various terminals. Vopak spokesman Hans de Willigen said that it was hard to estimate the impact of the announced actions as it was still unknown how many employees would take part. World Maritime News Staff