In a summary judgment ruling today, the preliminary relief judge ruled that unions FNV and CNV are inadmissible in the lawsuit against the State to enforce financial relief for care workers with Long Covid. PILP is acting as attorney for union FNV in the case. The unions had sued the State in summary proceedings in a collective action. An advance payment of damages was sought for all healthcare workers who suffered Long Covid in 2020. The preliminary injunction judge now says that such a collective action is not possible in these summary proceedings.
According to the interim relief judge, the circumstances under which different care workers had to perform their jobs are too different to pass judgment on them in these summary proceedings. This means that the judge in preliminary relief proceedings will not rule on the substance of the case, and therefore will not answer the question of whether the State is liable for the damage incurred by care employees. For this reason, the interim relief judge also does not express an opinion on the question of whether it is right for the State to want to make a settlement for a limited group, namely only the healthcare workers who were infected between March and June 2020.
However, the interim relief judge does say that it is understandable that the unions started these proceedings.
‘In all reasonableness, it cannot be disputed that those affected have a strong interest in obtaining clarity in the short term about compensation for the financial consequences related to their efforts in the health care sector in the first period after the corona pandemic reached the Netherlands and the infections contracted as a result, which led to long-term illness. However understandable it is that the trade unions have seized on these summary proceedings as a crowbar, this legal route cannot offer solace on the grounds mentioned above.’
PILP will consult with union FNV about the ruling of the preliminary injunction court and possible follow-up steps.
Read more about this case here.
