Workers Shut Netherlands Down, We Should Do The Same!

No ships were handled at the ports of Rotterdam, Zeeland and Amsterdam between 11:15 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. on Friday September 11th 2026.

This action followed mass strikes by construction and metal workers in early September. The strike wave is a militant response to government attacks on welfare. The government want to cut €6.5 billion to raise money for military spending.

Strikes are due to escalate with government workers coming out. Workers at beer brewer Heineken joined the action by walking out of work. Union leader Paul Smink said many people at the breweries do very physically demanding work: “If they become ill, become disabled, or lose their jobs through no fault of their own, they must be able to count on a robust social safety net. It is precisely that security that this Cabinet wants to dismantle.”

Asmae Hajjari, a dock workers’ union official said: “We do not accept that security regarding unemployment or disability is sacrificed for other political choices. Social security is not the cabinet’s savings account. Employees and employers have paid premiums for this for years.”

The right wing coalition government has been forced to drop some of the cuts but workers aren’t stopping the strikes until the all the cuts are dropped. There was a nationwide stoppage on Sept 9th and unions have rejected the offer of partial retreat from the cabinet.

There was a week long strike action by cleaners from the 14th to the 18th of September and strikes are set to continue as the government tries to push through 70% of the Budget that sparked this worker movement.

In Ireland, workers cannot legally down tools to protest government budget decisions, cuts, or legislation. We are banned from exercising our democratic right to strike to defend our class by the 1990 Act. But there’s nothing to stop unions brining workplaces out in a coordinated strike using workplace issues as excuse to coordinate a national shut down.

The same goes for the public sector strikes happening across Ireland in October. Unions could coordinate a massive shut down. Ireland’s union density is much higher then the Netherlands. But it’s not about the percentage unionised, it’s about what actions we take.

A country like Sweden has 69% union density but unions are co-management. Ireland has about 23%.

Unionised workers in the Netherlands only represent 15% of the working class but through massive strike mobilisations have prevented regressive legislation that limits their power and can protest against government decisions that impact workers and the poor.

We need to start taking on the argument that legislation stops us fighting, it doesn’t. Stop using it as an excuse and let’s get organised!