Police unions campaigning for a pay rise plan to disrupt the start of the new football season by striking during the first days of play.

The unions say in a press release they will strike during the matches on August 7 to 9 unless justice minister Ard van der Steur comes up with a better pay offer.

Van der Steur has reached a deal with civil service unions for an offer which he says is worth 5.05% plus a €500 bonus.

The police unions, however, say the deal is made up of a 2.85% rise over two years plus 2.2% from changes in the pension policy which may affect eventual pension payouts.

If the strike goes ahead, it will be up to local mayors to decide if it is responsible to let the matches go ahead, the unions say. The only match which will not be affected is the Feyenoord-Utrecht tie in Rotterdam on August 8.

The bill for policing during football matches came to almost 300,000 hours in the 2013/14 season – of which almost half was due to security duties at Eredivisie matches.

The police unions are also campaigning for improvements to police officers’ secondary benefits.