# Thermo Fisher staff in Groningen hold first pay action Thursday

> Workers at Patheon Biologics, part of Thermo Fisher, will hand management a giant "bitter pill" on 12 November, unions FNV and CNV say, after talks on a new collective agreement stalled.

Economy · published 2026-11-11 14:23 · https://nlnow.nl/a/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; source: CBS)

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

## Background

- **FNV (Federatie Nederlandse Vakbeweging)**: The largest trade union federation in the Netherlands. It negotiates collective labour agreements (cao's) and takes part in national talks with employers and the cabinet.
- **cao (collectieve arbeidsovereenkomst)**: A cao is a collective labour agreement: a contract negotiated between employers or employers' organisations and trade unions that sets pay, working hours, holiday entitlement and other conditions of employment for a sector or a company. Its terms apply to the employees covered by it, and it is renegotiated when it expires. When workers take action over a cao, they are pressing for better terms in the next agreement.

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