Dutch hospitals hold 24-hour strike for better pay, conditions

Health workers went on a 24-hour strike at dozens of hospitals across the Netherlands on Thursday to support trade union demands for a 10% pay increase and better terms.

Hospitals continued to operate on scaled-down schedules, meaning that only emergency care was being provided, a trade union statement said.

It was the latest in a series of strikes in the Netherlands seeking improved pay deals across a wide range of sectors.

Unions representing roughly 200,000 healthcare employees are currently in talks with hospitals to improve salaries, reduce workloads and address declining purchasing power as a result of high inflation.

Among demands are a pay increase of 10% for one year and an additional 100 euros ($106) in one-off wages, the union statement said. Reuters