Industrial action and disputes in Netherlands

Trade unions (and individual employees) have the right to strike. This right is not laid down in Dutch law, but the Supreme Court has ruled that Article 6 of the Council of Europe’s European Social Charter (which recognises the right of workers and employers to collective action in cases of conflicts of interest, including the right to strike) has direct effect in the Netherlands. However, case law has established that the right to strike is not without limitations. The interests of third parties should not be disproportionately damaged (for example, by holding transport strikes during rush hour). The common form is work stoppage, for either a very short period or a longer period, followed by relay strikes (short consecutive strikes at different firms) across a sector and support strikes (which have historically been less common in the Netherlands).

Many collective agreements contain clauses restricting the use of industrial action by both employers and employees during the lifetime of a collective agreement over issues dealt with in the agreement. These are known as peace clauses. Case law has found that a peace clause is implied even where no such provision has been expressly agreed. However, employees may take action over other issues – for example, if their employer breaches the agreement. There is no legal requirement for ballots to be held prior to industrial action being called. Peaceful picketing is considered to be covered by the right to strike.

There is no statutory system of mediation, conciliation or arbitration in industrial disputes, although some collective agreements provide for joint dispute resolution procedures.

Developments in industrial action, 2017–2022

Note: n.a., not available.

Source: CBS StatLine, 2022b.

Statistics Netherlands reports that 2017 marked a peak in strike activity in the Netherlands, with 32 strikes, the highest number since 1989, and the greatest number of individuals involved. These strikes led to one of the highest recorded levels of working days lost due to strikes, totalling 306,300 lost days and affecting 146,900 workers (CBS, 2018a). Despite fewer strikes in subsequent years, the number of working days lost continued to rise, particularly due to large-scale strikes in key sectors, such as healthcare. By 2019, 26 strikes resulted in an even greater loss of 391,000 working days, involving 318,700 workers.

In 2020, although the number of strikes dropped significantly to just 9, the number of working days lost per strike reached a new record. On average, 23,444 days were lost per strike, with a total of 211,000 lost working days and 105,300 workers involved. This made 2020 notable for the high impact relative to the low number of strikes.

After 2020, strike activity began to recover, with 22 strikes recorded in 2021. However, 2021 had the lowest overall figures in the last five years, with just 59,300 working days lost and 28,200 workers involved (CBS StatLine, 2022b). Despite fluctuations in the number of strikes, the impact of strikes in terms of working days lost and workers involved peaked in 2019 and 2020, highlighting how fewer but larger strikes in key sectors can have a significant effect.

Collective dispute resolution mechanisms

There is no official mechanism for dispute resolution, and no board. Very rarely, the government appoints mediators in protracted conflicts, but only in exceptional circumstances.

Individual dispute resolution mechanisms

Some collective agreements establish boards to deal with conflicts arising in relation to the existing agreement. There are no special bodies with permanent tasks such as monitoring and enforcement of collective agreements or the facilitation of mediation services. A first step recommended by the government and by judicial bodies is to enlist the help of a mediator. Where individual disputes escalate, they can be taken to court. This process tends to start at regional level, in a subdistrict court (kantonrechter). The UWV can also be involved in reviewing requests from employers to make employees redundant. It tends to be involved in cases where an employer wants to make an employee redundant; the UWV examines the request and the basis for making the person redundant, and assesses the legal validity of the request. However, where no agreement can be reached the district court is the first step in formal judicial procedures.

Use of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms

Mediation may be used to resolve disputes, but this is up to the parties to the conflict. A certification system exists for private mediators. There is no quantitative information, but mediation is rarely applied. As indicated above, cases where employers and employees cannot agree (such as on collective action and strikes), as well as individual disputes, can be taken to court for judicial dispute resolution. There are no labour courts, but there are general subdistrict courts.

There are not many statistics on dispute resolution. The national statistics office maintains data on how many people are fired or made redundant through the UWV and through a district judge. There does not appear to be any up-to-date data on the use of mediators in the Netherlands.

Use of dispute resolution mechanisms, 2012–2022

Notes: * These data are no longer updated due to a loss of funding (CBS, 2018b). n.a., not available.

Source: CBS, 2017.