Court issues preliminary injunction against FNV and CNV preventing security staff strike actions in excess of 15 minutes at Schiphol

The preliminary relief court has partially ruled in favour of FNV and CNV to permit a maximum of 5 work stoppages not exceeding 15 minutes per 24-hour period, but it has prohibited strike actions in excess of 15 minutes as well as work stoppages during peak times.

Although Schiphol would have preferred that the strike actions had been limited to a maximum of 10 minutes for no more than 3 times per 24-hour period, it will abide by the court’s decision to allow stoppages not exceeding 15 minutes.

Summer is the busiest time of year at Schiphol, with an average of around 220,000 passengers a day travelling through the airport. The 15-minute strike actions planned by FNV and CNV could result in passenger flows stagnating, which may create unsafe situations in the terminal.

Schiphol will continue to engage in dialogue with such parties as the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee in order to monitor whether implementing additional measures will be necessary to keep guaranteeing safety in the terminal buildings.

Schiphol deeply regrets the inconvenience that this situation will cause to all those passengers who find themselves faced with longer queuing times. Just as the passengers themselves, Schiphol has no part in the conflict between the trade unions and the security firms. In conjunction with its partners (the airlines, the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee and the baggage handlers), Schiphol will do everything possible in order to minimise nuisance to travellers.

Private security collective labour agreement
The private security collective labour agreement covers some 31,000 security workers, including Schiphol’s security staff working for Securitas T&A, Procheck International and I-Sec. Around 1,200 security officers come under the collective labour agreement for G4S Aviation Security.