In a rather unique form of protest, lorry drivers in the Netherlands have posted toilet paper to their country’s road transport association.
Two Dutch trade unions representing lorry drivers, the CNV and FNV, have called for wage increases and better working conditions. Despite extensive talks, the unions have not reached an agreement with employers – the positions of the two parties continues to differ widely.
The unions are demanding wage increases of 3% for its 150,000 members employed as lorry drivers. The offer from their employers remains at 2%. The next round of negotiations has been postponed for a week, and if there is still no result, the CNV and FNV may yet call a strike.
The transport sector has proven to be systemically relevant during the time of the coronavirus pandemic. Much work has been done under difficult circumstances. Now is the time to show employees that their hard work has paid off, ” said FNV’s Willem Dijkhuizen.
According to Tjitze van Rijssel from CNV, employers are taking advantage of the coronavirus crisis by not carrying out wage increases.
However, some drivers have already started to protest by driving slower and taking additional breaks of 15 minutes.
Others are reportedly sending envelopes with toilet paper to the country’s road transport industry body, the TLN. According to bigtruck.nl, the drivers want to symbolically show that they “wipe their a** with the wage offer of 2%”.
Photo: Pixabay / Jasmin_Sessler / public domain
