“We will oppose this with all our might.” Street sweepers and pavers are angry about their new working hours, which they received this week. Three departments of the municipality will start a test with the new working hours in April – at least that is the intention. Some of the employees say that the new arrangement is turning their lives upside down. Behind the scenes, according to letters in the hands of AT5 in NH Newsthe conflict has escalated in recent weeks.
A week ago, Arnold arrives at work when he is told that he can go straight to the manager. Arnold already suspects what it will be about: the new working hours. It’s been about little else for months. They must come into effect on April 1.
Arnold would prefer not to work evening shifts and has also indicated that. “My wife works in a shelter until late at night. That means I have to pick up the children from the BSO.” Arnold does not expect any problems: that would be the first time in fifteen years that he sweeps the streets. And, as promised, the new working hours will be tailor-made.
It’s different. “Can’t your wife work less?” asks the manager. “Or work different schedules or look for another job?”
Arnold is dumbfounded. “I now have to find a solution, the problem will be placed with me and my wife.” In the past, the municipality dealt with these kinds of requests much more easily, he says. He is afraid of what will happen next, and only wants to talk under another name.
Old rotten
Arnold is not alone: other veterans are also furious. “It’s awful,” says street sweeper Remy (not his real name either). He has been working as a street sweeper for years and was given the planning for the coming year this week. It is very different from what he was used to before. “After thirty years of the same working hours, I will soon have fifteen more Saturdays.”
Another colleague can hardly contain his emotions. “There are men in their sixties who will soon have to work in the evenings,” he says. “Our entire team has been in turmoil for weeks. We do not agree with this.”
“After thirty years of the same working hours, I will soon have fifteen more Saturdays.”
For Remy, grandfather of two grandchildren, the most sensitive point is Wednesdays. “They are very important to me and my wife. We always look after the grandchildren, for seven years now.” That was always taken into account, but that is over from April 1.
Flexibility
Because from April 1, it is the intention that about 1800 civil servants will work with more flexible working hours. These are THOR, Waste & Raw Materials and City Works, the departments responsible for waste collection, green management, street maintenance and street supervision, for example.
So things will change for a lot of people. Changing shifts and working in the evening or weekend will become more common. This is badly needed, the municipality believes, to keep the city ‘clean, whole and livable’ 24 hours a day. Municipal secretary Peter Teesink, the highest boss of all Amsterdam civil servants, also expects that there will be less overtime due to the new schedule.
Teesink is optimistic: he thinks that the new working hours can solve many problems. With data and ever-improving monitoring, it is easy to identify where and when additional efforts are required. Amsterdammers can also expect the same from their municipality, he believes.
probationary year
The new planning starts April 1 with a one-year trial, which will be extended if successful.
- Employees receive an annual plan in outline.
- Each month they receive a monthly schedule, which can deviate from the annual schedule for a maximum of 10 percent of the shifts.
- We try to take personal wishes and circumstances into account.
At Stadswerken they received those annual schedules this week. Since then it has been very restless there, writes an employee. He had indicated that he did not want evening shifts because he is a carer for his elderly mother. His manager is said to have said ‘that he should go to her during breaks’. He’s furious. “Is this a good employer?”
Conflict
Some employees hope that the works council can do something to stop the plans. The works council has been discussing the plans with municipal clerk Teesink for years. When Teesink once again confirmed in a letter on 8 February that the new services will come into effect on 1 April, the works council feels passed over: the members of the works council have not yet approved the plans.
Moreover, the plans can only take effect once ten conditions have been met. Sufficient support among employees, for example. And that is not the case, the works council’s roster committee has said: at a number of information meetings, almost everyone would be against the plans. There were six hundred people in attendance.
“The Works Council Schedules Committee has […] established that there is no support for these new schedules.”
The Works Council decides to vote on invoking the nullity of Teesink’s decision. In fact, this means that the decision does not exist and cannot have any consequences. 23 of the 25 Works Council members vote in favor of nullity. In a letter to Teesink, the Works Council asks to ‘immediately cease all implementation acts’.
Teesink continues
No way, the municipal clerk writes back on February 23. According to Teesink, the works council had already agreed to the plans in the summer of 2022. “Invoking the nullity could have been done for another month from then on.” According to Teesink, his letter of 8 February is not a formal decision, but more a confirmation of what he and the Works Council have long agreed. And the lack of support? The city clerk says he hears other sounds. Perhaps the information meetings were ‘not the right format’ to gauge support.
“In your letter of February 17, I see no cause, no reason and no argument that justifies […] to revise the agreements made with you.”
Teesink writes that, as far as he is concerned, the new working hours should still take effect on April 1, also to finally provide employees with clarity. “I therefore find it unacceptable and irresponsible to postpone this decision again.”
District judge
Many employees hope that the Works Council will stop the plans. The OR mailbox is said to have been filled with angry messages in recent days. The Works Council is reportedly investigating whether it makes sense to go to the subdistrict court. Whether that will happen is still the question. Both Peter Teesink and Works Council chairman René van den Busken were asked for a response, but either declined or did not respond.
Meanwhile, employees say they feel increasingly powerless. “Distrust is so high,” says Remy. He hopes that the works council will persevere and go to court. And if that doesn’t happen? Remy alludes to harder actions. “We will oppose the new schedules with all our might. If this is the line, it will be a very hot summer.”
