Court intervenes

The Dutch Enterprise Court, which deals with internal disputes, has intervened in an ongoing conflict within the country’s largest union body, the FNV.

The dispute, which has been running for months, has already led to the resignation of the FNV’s original board, the dismissal of an interim board, two postponed elections, the resignation of some supervisory board members and strike action by the FNV’s own staff.

Last month, the staff, supported by the FNV’s own works council and some industry unions, asked the court to intervene.

The court has now done so, accepting that it was no longer possible for the FNV to resolve the dispute by mutual agreement. It will appoint two individuals with the job of finding a solution and organising new elections.