Some 10,000 pharmacy assistants are expected to gather at the Malieveld in The Hague on Tuesday to demand better pay and working conditions, and pharmacies all over the country will be forced to close their doors.

The one-day national strike, the first ever national stoppage by pharmacy assistants, was preceded by nine weeks of relay strikes in support of a 6% rise and a minimum of €16 per hour. Assistants also want their pay to include the work they do before opening up shop.

“I work nights mainly, the workload is considerable and we have a great responsibility,” Paula Kleijbergen, a pharmacy assistant of 30 years, told broadcaster NOS. “We are doing this to stand up for our rights but we do feel guilty about patients,” she said.

“These people have remained loyal to their employer and patients for a long time. But it’s becoming more difficult to find staff. Young people are looking at what they are paid and the salary at public pharmacies is nothing to write home about,” CNV union spokeswoman Manon van Essen said.

Surveys among pharmacy assistants have shown that aggression is one of the main reasons people leave. In addition working at a hospital can pay €600 to €800 more a month.

Although the strike is aimed at employers, many pharmacists support the action. “They encouraged staff to participate,” a spokesman for WZOA, the organisation of independent public pharmacies, said. “They don’t have the money to increase salaries so this is also a strike aimed at healthcare insurers and politicians.”

Around a thousand pharmacies will be closed on Tuesday but some will open in case of emergencies.