A lobby group for small construction companies wants more flexibility in the building sector’s pay and conditions agreement to allow builders to work on Saturdays, the Telegraaf reports.

The AFN, which represents 2,000 small firms, says both employers and workers want more flexibility, and that the sector has to renew in order to keep attracting new people.
‘The big unions are dominated by older men who are scared of losing their rights and [sector lobby group] Bouwend Nederlands is dominated by the big players,’ says Gijs Buijs of the AFN.
The building sector pay and conditions agreement (cao) is sector-wide, meaning employers cannot make individual agreements. The AFN is in talks with the social affairs ministry in an effort to win an exemption for members who want to opt out.