# FNV and CNV say Zeeland Refinery's 2% raise falls short

> Unions FNV and CNV say the Vlissingen-Oost refinery's 2% offer for a one-year collective labour agreement (cao) is below inflation, which CBS put at 3.7% in October.

Economy · published 2026-11-12 10:31 · https://nlnow.nl/a/unions-call-zeeland-refinery-s-2-pay-offer-a-slap-in-the-face/

Zeeland Refinery has so far offered a 2% pay rise for a one-year collective labour agreement (cao), the unions FNV and CNV say. The current agreement expired on 1 October.

Statistics Netherlands (CBS) put inflation in October at 3.7%. Aron Foppen of CNV and Inan Bozkir of FNV say a 2% rise would leave staff able to buy less than before. "With what Zeeland Refinery is offering in pay at the moment, employees will end up worse off in real terms, given inflation," they say. "Then you are not taking your own people seriously."

The unions say the refinery also wants to worsen conditions for some groups of staff. Management also refuses to reimburse the tax-free maximum of 25 cents per kilometre in travel costs before 1 January 2027, they say.

Foppen and Bozkir say the refinery earns a lot thanks to high fuel prices and large refining margins, while its shareholders, TotalEnergies and Lukoil, claim the profit for themselves. "The people on the shop floor make the big profits possible every day," they say, "and so deserve appreciation and prospects."

Another round of talks will follow, but none has been scheduled yet. The unions want the employer to make a significantly better offer than it has so far. The refinery in Vlissingen-Oost, near Nieuwdorp, has more than 400 employees, as well as many contract workers.

## 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 collective labour agreement is a contract negotiated between an employer or employers' organisation and one or more trade unions, setting pay, working hours, holiday entitlement and other conditions of employment for a sector or a company. In the Netherlands, a cao applies to the employees covered by it, and it runs for a fixed period, after which new negotiations are needed to agree a successor agreement.

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