The Netherlands: Two Heineken breweries enter third week of strikes

Strikes are taking place at two Heineken breweries in the Netherlands this week, after workers declined an updated proposal on wages and working conditions from the brewing major, Yahoo Finance reported on December 2.

Local union FNV confirmed "hundreds" of workers are downing their tools from December 2 until Wednesday, December 4 at the Den Bosch and Zoeterwoude breweries.

On Tuesday, December 3, "major action" is also due to take place at the Heineken Experience visitor centre in Amsterdam, led by 250 employees.

Walkouts began at both breweries three weeks ago, taking place on 20, 26 and 27 November.

Speaking on the strikes, Nurettin Altundal, director of FNV Food Industry said: “Heineken has brought this on itself. The management does not want to move an inch in the direction of the employees. So after first one day and last week two days, we are now striking for three days in a row. We will continue to do so until Heineken agrees on a good collective labor agreement for the people"

In a statement sent to Just Drinks, Heineken said its updated proposal shared with unions on the weekend includes a 6.3% pay hike across two years, with a 4% rise taking place in 2025 and a 2.3% increase in 2026.

Other changes included increasing parental leave pay from 70% to 80% of a worker's current salary, maintaining the current agreement for benefits paid to weekend workers, and offering "Personalisation of bereavement leave".

Workers however, have called for a 7% increase. The FNV said the company's 6.3% proposal is offered "in pieces", meaning "it amounts to about 3% per year".

According to Altundal, "on the most important point, wages, they are still offering too little, the employees are still not improving in purchasing power. So I cannot take this seriously.”

He added: “The basic salary of the top at Heineken has increased by 87% since 2007, with a purchasing power improvement of 40%. An employee in the brewery in scales 5 to 7, where most are, has only improved by 3.79% over 16 years. That is absurdly low.”

Heineken said its latest sweetened offer was its "ultimate attempt to resume talks to reach a collective labour agreement together".

It added: "Striking is not good for anyone and this is something we are very concerned about. It is a disproportionately heavy tool with major consequences: for our production, and ultimately for our reliability towards our customers and consumers".

It noted that the move, "also has a big impact on mutual team spirit... it affects everyone. We have to come out of this together with all colleagues".

Beers brewed in Zoeterwoude include the company’s flagship beer, Heineken 0.0m Amstel and Sol.

The Den Bosch site produces Affligem Blond and Wit, Red Stripe, Murphy’s Irish stout, Amstel 0.0, and Lagunitas IPA, among others.

FNV told Just Drinks it would wait to evaluate Heineken's response before preparing more strike dates, but noted that it would likely continue industrial action if the Edelweiss brewer could not offer an improved wage offer.

"Heineken breweries enter third week of strikes in Netherlands" was originally created and published by Just Drinks, a GlobalData owned brand.

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