News of: Monday, August 15 2005,

Garbage collectors strike 1 week in Amsterdam

Starting today, garbage collectors in Amsterdam will strike for a week.

This means that during Sail 2005 most of Amsterdam will become quite a mess, as garbage is not collected and the streets are not cleaned.

Protest by the City of Amsterdam did not help. Amsterdam is afraid that the image of Amsterdam will suffer because of this strike, especially since Sail 2005 takes place, the biggest event in the Netherlands of 2005.

The area where Sail 2005 takes place is not affected, as they had already arranged for a private garbage collection firm.

The strike of the civil servants in Amsterdam is the start of a series of strikes in the Netherlands, meant to put pressure on the negotiations between the unions and the cities.