Companies in the transport sector may face a multi-million-dollar claim for failing to pay holidays in full over a five-year period. CNV Vakmensen is going to help workers in the sector recover these amounts. According to the union, the amounts at stake are thousands of euros gross per person.
The issue is prompted by a ruling by the European Court of Justice (2011) that the pay for a holiday should be equal to the pay for a working day. According to CNV, this is still not the case in the transport sector. "Payment for a holiday is based solely on the relatively low basic salary. No allowance is made for bonuses and the many overtime hours. That's not right," said CNV's Tjitze van Rijssel.
Transport workers particularly affected
Van Rijssel believes this is a particular issue in the transport sector. "There is no sector where employees structurally work so much overtime. Working weeks of 60, 70 hours are no exception. Those overtime hours are part of their salary and should therefore also count when paying out holidays." It would involve 100,000 workers, including drivers and office workers working shifts. The workers who want to claim their money have a strong case, according to CNV.
No central deal
The union tried in vain earlier this year to make a central deal with employers' organisations TLN and VVT. "Then we could have got it right for everyone at once. But unfortunately the employers wanted nothing of that." CNV Vakmensen says it is going to help workers who want to file a claim themselves. A sample letter that workers can use can be found on the union's website. For three members - working at GCA and Geodis - the union has filed a claim of around €6,000 gross each. "If they don't pay up, we will start a test case in court," he said.
