# Unions threaten action at Thermo Fisher in Groningen over pay

> Unions FNV and CNV have given the biopharmaceutical firm until noon on 11 November to improve its final pay offer, saying staff could walk off the job.

Economy · published 2026-11-05 10:32 · https://nlnow.nl/a/unions-threaten-action-at-thermo-fisher-in-groningen-over-pay/

FNV and CNV have sent the management of Thermo Fisher in Groningen an ultimatum: it has until 12:00 on Wednesday 11 November 2026 to make a substantially better final offer for a new cao, or collective labour agreement. The site, a former DSM unit now part of the American Thermo Fisher Scientific, employs about 180 people.

The company offers a two-year cao. Pay would rise 3% from 1 October 2026. From 1 October 2027 it would rise by the average cao increase in industry that year, according to employers' organisation AWVN, capped at 3.2%. The unions note that CBS has set inflation for October 2026 at 3.7%, so employees would again lose purchasing power.

Among other things, the unions want a pay rise of at least 5% and a travel allowance of 25 cents per kilometre.

If the employer does not respond positively, the unions are free to organise action. They cannot yet say what form it would take. They describe both discontent and willingness to act as high, and do not rule out employees walking off the job.

Anthony Williams (FNV) and Stijn Soeters (CNV) say management has made a final offer that is "not quite good enough" year after year. Staff accepted earlier offers reluctantly, last year only narrowly, when the company was doing less well. Now Thermo Fisher itself says the outlook is better. "It is time they were rewarded for their hard work instead of going backwards again," they said.

## 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.
- **CNV (Christelijk Nationaal Vakverbond)**: The Christian National Trade Union Federation is one of the trade union confederations in the Netherlands, representing employees in negotiations with employers over pay and working conditions. It is inspired by Christian social principles and is one of the parties that negotiates collective labour agreements (cao's) in various sectors.
- **cao (collectieve arbeidsovereenkomst)**: A cao (collective labour agreement) is a contract negotiated between employers or an employers' organisation and trade unions. It sets pay scales, pay rises, working hours and other conditions of employment for a company or sector for a fixed period. In the Netherlands, many employees' pay and terms are set through a cao, so pay offers in a company are often framed as a new cao.
- **AWVN (Algemene Werkgeversvereniging Nederland)**: The General Employers' Association of the Netherlands is an employers' organisation that negotiates collective labour agreements (cao's) with trade unions on behalf of member employers. It advises and represents employers in cao talks and in other labour-market matters. Its cao proposals are often used as a reference point for pay increases in a sector.

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