6 The regulation and practice of industrial
DISPUTES
6.1 The regulatory framework of industrial disputes
In general the Netherlands enjoys a high degree of industrial peace, particularly when
compared to other countries. As a general rule, strikes are called by trade unions as an
ultimate solution to put pressure onto negotiations when collective bargaining has ended
up in a stalemate. Sometimes sit-down strikes or enterprise occupations occur when en-
terprises have to close down activities. There is no positive statutory regulation of the
right to strike. In the Netherlands, strike law is judge’s law, and the court is the formal
instance for permitting a strike to continue after an appeal has been lodged.
There are separate systems of dispute resolution for the public and private sectors in the
Netherlands. The public sector claims a formal arbitration system.26 In the private sector,
there is no statutory system of arbitration and mediation. Such means are thus called upon
only rarely and not in an institutionalised manner. Labour disputes are normally handled
through first-instance civil courts or voluntary disputes committees established by collec-
tive bargaining. “Employers confronted with collective industrial action may refer the
strike for adjudication as to its lawfulness to the President of a District Court, who deals
with the matter under summary procedure” (Van der Heijden and De Gier, 1996: 70).
6.2 Industrial disputes in road transport and aviation
In international comparison, the level of industrial conflict in The Netherlands is low.
Nonetheless, certain periods have seen industrial conflict rise in the country. The period
from 1970 to 1974, above all, saw the advent of increased strike activity. In the 1980s and
1990s many industrial conflicts have occurred in the public sector. In 1983 there was a
general strike among civil servants, in recent years above all municipal civil servants,
construction workers and nurses have interrupted their work for short periods of time.
Road transport
In the road transport industry, as we have seen above, the strike for road haulage in 1989
resulted in the split between two competing collective agreements. Since then no more
strikes have taken place in road haulage of freight. Many strikes and labour conflicts have
In 1984 the Advisory and Arbitration Committee was established to intervene in an advisory or arbitration
capacity in disputes between the government as employer and the public sector unions. Either party may call on
the Committee for non-binding advice but all parties must agree to arbitration as it mandates a binding decision.
The Committee deals with disputes related to pay and employment conditions between the Minister for Internal
Affairs and the Central Committee for Consultation on Public Service Matters. In practice, arbitration never
occurs due to government refusal. Though any outcome of arbitration is supposedly binding, Parliament’s control
of the budget allows it the liberty to decide whether or not to honour a reward given through arbitration.
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