Thermo Fisher staff in Groningen hold first pay action Thursday

Workers at the biopharmaceutical company Patheon Biologics, part of Thermo Fisher, in Groningen are taking action on Thursday 12 November for a better collective labour agreement (cao). During an extended break, they will present management with a huge "bitter pill" to show their discontent with the employer's offer.

The unions FNV and CNV call it a first warning. They say the final offer does not do justice to the effort workers put in over months of constructive negotiations. "The current offer means yet again that people lose spending power, while the company itself says the outlook is getting better. It cannot be justified," said Anthony Williams of the FNV and Stijn Soeters of the CNV.

The unions had earlier given management an ultimatum. Among other things, they demand a pay rise of at least 5% and a travel allowance of 25 cents per kilometre. The employer had until noon on Wednesday 11 November to come back with an improved offer.

"This is a first clear signal. We hope management understands that the workers are serious. There still has to be a decent collective agreement. If there isn't, we won't rule out further and tougher action," Williams and Soeters said.

Statistics Netherlands (CBS) counted 23 strikes in 2025, down from 36 in 2024 and the peak of 52 in 2023. The lowest count in the years from 2016 to 2025 was 9, in 2020.

Strike disputes fell to 23 in 2025 after peaking at 52 in 2023

Disputes · 2016–2025

Strike disputes fell to 23 in 2025 after peaking at 52 in 2023 (disputes). From 25 in 2016 to 23 in 2025; highest 52 in 2023, lowest 9 in 2020. Source: CBS.

View data

Data: Strike disputes fell to 23 in 2025 after peaking at 52 in 2023

Period	Disputes
2016	25
2017	32
2018	28
2019	26
2020	9
2021	22
2022	33
2023	52
2024	36
2025	23