'Cessation still effective'
On December 12, primary education will be shut down again because education minister Arie Slob does not meet the teachers. 'Staking works', say specialists in the field of strikes and employment law.
Picture: Fred van Diem
For employees, striking is still a great way to get their way. That is the analysis of specialists in the field of strikes and employment law. “Yes, it is an effective tool,” says trade union historian Sjaak van der Velden (International Institute for Social History). "That is no different from a hundred years ago." Professor of employment law Evert Verhulp (University of Amsterdam) adds: "It is the best way to show that you are serious." And the Belgian political scientist Kurt Vandaele (European Trade Union Institute) says: "My research shows that strikes and the threat thereof are still very important."
The feeling of duty makes you weaker
With a first strike on 5 October, the united activists in primary education forced an extra investment of 270 million euros before the presentation of the coalition agreement. When this Education Magazine went to press, there was a good chance of a new strike on 12 December. “It is now a lot more difficult,” says Van der Velden. "The coalition parties will not easily abandon the coalition agreement." According to him, that is no reason not to continue now. “There is a widespread feeling in the sector that 'we are no longer taking it'. You have to hold on to that. ”
According to Verhulp, primary education is making clear with new actions that the current commitments are not enough. "Under the threat of tougher actions, you will see that some money will be found to keep the peace: staking works."
Tough opponent
Staking in the public sector is generally more difficult than in the corporate sector. “The government is a tough opponent,” says Van der Velden. As an example he cites a moderately successful civil service strike from the 3,5s. After months of strikes and actions, the then Lubbers cabinet reduced a wage cut from 3 to XNUMX percent. Not exactly an impressive result. If a company goes down, the employer loses turnover from day one, but the government is different.
Colleague Verhulp points out that lost votes by voters are just as important to politicians as lost revenue for a company. The fact that there are fewer strikes in the government, he says, is primarily because many people in the public sector regard their work as a vocation and do not easily renounce their work duty. "That certainly applies to teachers and nurses." Teachers or masters will not sacrifice the children's well-being for making their demands a reality.
“The sense of duty to work makes you weaker,” says Van der Velden. The fact that teachers and masters are now willing to strike makes it clear how deep the frustration is. "The unions initially did not feel that well."
Lump sum
Funding for education has made it easier for politicians to hide. Because with the lump sum, the government gives schools a bag of money that they can spend as they see fit. Employees and their union representatives do not negotiate salaries directly with the government in education, but that party does determine the financial leeway. Instead, negotiations are held with employers' associations such as the PO council.
In this way, the government can shift responsibility for low salaries. Van der Velden: “In recent years there has been a lot of dissatisfaction with the money that boards spend on new buildings. Then the government says: There is plenty of money, but you spend it incorrectly. That makes a hard position difficult. ”
The fact that employers and employees are now working together temporarily is an advantage, according to Verhulp. “The sector acts as one man. There is no blackhead. ”
Luis in the fur
Two outsiders were needed to start the strikes in primary education: Jan van de Ven and Thijs Roovers of PO in Actie. In a column NRC Handelsblad Menno Tamminga compared the facebook group PO in Action with the initiative of Gaby Breuer, a nurse who in November 1988 placed an angry advertisement in the Volkskrant in which she expressed her anger and frustration about the workload and low salaries. With her 'white rage', Breuer mobilized six thousand people and the initiative eventually resulted in a new trade union with thousands of members.
The idea that high wages are bad for economic growth is outdated.
So long before social media existed, disorganized workers were the sometimes useful thorn in the fur of the unions. “The fact that outsiders sometimes shake up unions is timeless,” says Vandaele. Van der Velden does see an important difference: “At the time, the union did not want to listen to outsiders. Now the education unions are willing to work together. ”
According to Tamminga, PO in Actie and the unions have been sentenced to each other. 'Action groups do successfully put relevant topics on the agenda, but they lack the organization, the role in social dialogue and the money to call a strike, for example,' he writes. 'The like up to now on Facebook can not do without the member of the union. And vice versa.' The employment law specialists endorse this analysis.
On October 5, ninety thousand primary school teachers left their jobs. Sixty thousand of them went to Zuiderpark in The Hague in protest.
