Employees at the Etos distribution centre in Beverwijk laid off work today for the third time in a week. The strikers are demanding a 5 per cent structural wage increase.
Last Thursday and Friday were the first strikes in Beverwijk, where some 240 Etos staff work. About 100 activists were also on the march today, according to union FNV.
'Empty shelves at Etos'
From the distribution centre, the drugstore chain supplies some five hundred shops in the Netherlands. FNV expects that the actions may lead to empty shop shelves. According to Etos, the situation is not so dire. Some deliveries will be affected, but there is no question of empty shelves, a spokesperson told the Algemeen Dagblad. "We are doing everything possible to stock the shops. It is about non-perishable goods so the shops are full, the warehouses and therefore the shelves are filled and people can just go in for their shopping."
Read also:Etos sells via bol.com and may outsource logistics
Collective bargaining negotiations
The aim of the actions is a five per cent wage increase. Previous collective agreement negotiations came to nothing. According to the Etos spokesperson, the drugstore chain is open to resuming negotiations.
Image: Donald Trung Quoc Don
