FGTB and UNI Europa solidarity action with Dutch cleaning workers

Publié: 15 Février 2012
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In response to the global solidarity campaign launched by UNI Global Union, UNI Europa and workers’ representatives from the Belgian union FGTB from three different regions organised a solidarity demonstration in front of the Dutch Embassy in Brussels and met with the representation of the Netherlands in the European Union asking for employers to meet the fair and legitimate demands from cleaning workers in the Netherlands.



The Belgian cleaners gave the Ambassador’s representative their union brochure for the cleaning sector and highlighted two aspects:



- The union fights, as in the Netherlands, against increasing workloads and bigger surface areas that they must clean during their shifts.



- In Belgium there is a system of social security and guaranteed pay sick leave. This is one of the major claims of cleaners in the Netherlands.



On the same day as the embassy visit, during a works council extraordinary meeting, workers called on the management of GOM, the second largest cleaning company in Belgium after ISS, to settle the strike with workers in the Netherlands.



UNI Europa's policy officer for the cleaning sector, Laila Castaldo, explained the aim of the global campaign of solidarity, handed out the letter addressed to the Dutch Government and to the main cleaning and client companies in the Netherlands and stressed that already more than 7000 messages were sent from a global online campaign.



The workers have been on strike for six weeks in the Netherlands. Hundreds of businesses are affected by the strike action across the cleaning industry. Their claims are the same as many cleaning workers in Europe: cleaning staff demand more respect and a reduction of the workload. Cleaning workers in Belgium are familiar with this increase in surfaces to be cleaned. In recent years, it has increased from 400 square meters to 700 to 1000 square meters per hour.



UNI Europa believes that supporting the Dutch cleaners' struggle is an important part of the global struggle of cleaners around the world who want fair contracts and respect on the job.