Dutch Employees of Lloyd’s Register Plan Job Action Over Stalled Wage Talks
Another key sector of the shipping industry is facing a potential job action as a rash of incidents has spread recently from ports to even the office staff of the International Transport Workers’ Federation. The latest ultimatum comes from the Dutch employees of Lloyd’s Register, who have said they will begin targeted actions unless there is meaningful movement in their wage negotiations.
Nautilus International, which represents the employees, highlights that as a classification service, Lloyd’s Register provides fundamental services to maritime and offshore operations. They warn that operations in the port of Rotterdam, Europe’s largest port, would be impacted, as well as the North Sea’s extensive offshore operations. It could impact the oil and gas supply industry as well as offshore wind energy.
The union has set a deadline of noon on Thursday, November 27, for an agreement on its wage and working condition demands. It says that there has been no movement on their demands for a 4.5 percent general wage increase, backdated to the start of the year, as well as a fair wage scale and pay system. They are also demanding an agreement that future changes require union consultations.
Nautilus says the action would begin with targeted elements, such as a refusal to work overtime. Employees would also stop certain activities, and if the dispute continues, the union says it could escalate to a work stoppage and varying-duration strikes. The ultimatum was issued to Lloyd's Register EMEA and Lloyd's Register Maritiem Netherland.
"Our members have voted overwhelmingly in favor of industrial action,” says Richard Moti, negotiator for Nautilus International. “After three years of falling behind, with wages failing to keep pace with inflation, they've had enough."
The union says that despite repeated attempts throughout 2025 to discuss fair wage increases that would align with Dutch inflation rates, Lloyd's Register has consistently failed to engage substantively with the union's proposals. It also warned that if work is transferred to other companies during industrial action, it will be declared “contaminated work” by Nautilus International, meaning union members at those firms will be called upon to refuse the transferred workload.
Nautilus has moved aggressively against many sectors in the industry to fight for wage increases. It joined with other unions to conduct the first-ever strikes against the UK’s Royal Fleet Auxiliary, the operator of support ships for the Royal Navy. The 2024 wage dispute dragged on till a settlement in January 2025.
The union recently announced that members employed by UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) on ships operated by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) had won significant increases in their pay ranging between 15.6 and 37.5 percent, depending on rank. The union also secured wage increases for members responsible for enforcing maritime and sea fishing laws in Scottish waters, working for Marine Scotland Compliance.