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Employers in healthcare and taxi transport are once again calling on FNV to stop organizing strikes.

The strikes announced for 17 and 18 February are once again causing a great deal of stress and inconvenience to vulnerable travelers in healthcare transport. However, the strikes are pointless now that a collective labor agreement was recently concluded, which will soon be declared generally binding. 

By concluding the new collective labor agreement, drivers will receive an additional 8% wage increase, which is more than the current inflation. The sickness and break schemes were also adjusted to meet the demands of the trade unions. Employers will therefore not renegotiate the collective labor agreement that has just been concluded.

KNV again calls on the trade union FNV to finally focus on the future. After all, employers moved strongly in the direction of the union demands, while entrepreneurs also have their backs against the wall due to inflation, increased fuel costs and the aftermath of corona. 

KNV chairman Bertho Eckhardt is very disappointed that healthcare transport clients are once again being victimized: 'I stated earlier that you keep repeating your points and hindering the transport of vulnerable groups, only damages healthcare transport. With the new collective labor agreement, there is an above-average wage increase compared to other sectors in the Netherlands. As a result, the collective labor agreement does justice to both the interests of employers and employees, including FNV's supporters, who also benefit from the wage increase. Involving students and care transport clients in a rearguard action is, I think, below the level of FNV. Waiting for care transport that doesn't come causes so much stress. You can't do that to clients. Certainly not now that there is just a new collective labor agreement.'

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No fear of large-scale disruption of healthcare transport, but inconvenience for individual travelers can unfortunately be significant

The consequences of previous strikes were not too bad, because nationally less than 2% of the staff went on strike. Because employees have improved as of 1 January, the willingness to strike may not have increased compared to last time. The healthcare providers will also try again to limit the nuisance to a minimum by ensuring good communication with clients and users. However, this will not be able to prevent serious nuisance for the vulnerable target group in some places, with all the consequences that entails.

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