National government civil servants are going on strike on Tuesday in protest at the new government’s decision to press ahead with a pay freeze. Parliamentary debates and other activities have been cancelled because of the stoppage.

The wage freeze was introduced by the previous administration and means civil servants will not see a pay rise this year. Protest meetings have been organised in Amsterdam, Apeldoorn, Groningen, Maastricht, Utrecht and Rotterdam.

The government apparatus has some 160,000 civil servants and the unions stress it is people working for organisations which work directly with the public, such as the tax office and prison service, who are hardest hit by the pay freeze.

“These organisations have been struggling to deal with high pressure and a shortage of staff for years,” the campaigners say.

Home affairs minister Peter Heerma has said he understands the unions’ demands but that he “also has to contend with the political backing for a pay freeze for civil servants in 2026.”

The strikers include the government’s own cleaning service, which is staging a 24-hour stoppage. The tax office, student funding body Duo, the immigration service IND and customs officers are also joining the strike.

“There are big differences in pay and working conditions within the civil service,” Dennis Baegen from the CMHF union told broadcaster NOS. “Customs, prison staff and cleaners have high-pressure jobs and it would be nice if their work was valued and their pay could rise in line with inflation.”