The Dutch Military In Action...Against Cuts

For (most) foreign soldiers it's a strange concept, but in the Netherlands there are several military Labor Unions.

And when the plans of the current Dutch government became known, they started organising small scale action meetings to get attention for the consequences of those plans. The first was on December 10 on Volkel AFB.

After that came a surprise. At a demonstration in the Dutch seat of government, the Hague, for all employers in the public sector a lot of soldiers were present in uniform. That was something I had never seen before.

When the actual cuts were presented, different military unions (7) decided to join forces. They have organised 30 local action meetings and set up a website and twitter account.

And while soldiers aren't allowed to strike, they have decided they will stop with all the volunteer work they do. And they do a LOT.
Also, they will do rule-book slowdowns. This could have consequences for Rotterdam and Eindhoven airport, that are also military airports and civilian flights could be delayed because of it.

All this should culminate in something quite unusual: a large action in the Hague on May 26, before the House of Representatives will discuss the budget cuts in June.