Cleaners’ strike week begins, particularly noticeable at REC
Users of the Roeterseiland Campus should brace themselves for dusty lecture halls and offices. A large proportion of cleaning staff will be going on strike over the coming week, in protest at dissatisfaction with the new collective labour agreement.
For five days this week, cleaners across the country will be going on strike. The strike will also be noticeable at the UvA, particularly at the Roeterseiland Campus. According to an estimate by Facility Services, around 80 per cent of the cleaning staff there will be taking part in the strike. At the other campuses, it is expected to involve only “a few cleaners”. The UvA therefore expects little disruption from the strike at those locations.
According to the UvA, essential cleaning tasks, including maintaining the toilets, will still be carried out at Roeterseiland despite the strike. Offices and meeting rooms, on the other hand, will be given the lowest priority.
The strike is being organised by the FNV trade union, which is unhappy with the new collective labour agreement for cleaners and refused to sign it. The new agreement was recently signed by the CNV trade union. The FNV considers the planned pay increase too low, objects to a provision stipulating that staff who have worked in the cleaning industry for less than six years receive less pay when they are off sick, and has criticised the absence of automatic compensation for rising prices.
Petition
This is not the first time that cleaning staff working for the UvA have made their voices heard. At the end of 2024, cleaners presented a petition in which they raised serious complaints with the management of cleaning company Vebego. At the time, the cleaners said they were being rushed and put under pressure, bullied and harassed when they were ill, or confronted while using the toilet. Earlier this year, however, the FNV cleaning sector union said that there had been “good progress” in addressing these issues.
