Dutch Trade Union FNV secure state aid for a sustainable transition

TUC Worker-Led Transition Project

The TUC worker-led transition project partners with manufacturing workers to futureproof industrial jobs. This case study is part of a worker-led transitions series, highlighting international examples where workers across sectors are playing an important role in the transition of their workplaces, helping to secure good quality work and shape their industries into the future.

Site details

Site name: Tata Steel, IJmuiden
Operator: Tata Steel
Location: IJmuiden, Netherlands
Country: Netherlands
Date: 2020 - present day

How the Trade Union FNV and opposition government are coming together to obtain state aid to try and stop the closure of the plant and move through a sustainable transition.

Tata Steel IJmuiden in the Netherlands currently employs around 9000 people. The site has been one of the largest steelmaking sites in Europe for a century. Employees at IJmuiden are represented by several unions, including De Unie and The Federation of Dutch Trade Unions (FNV).

The Ijmuiden site has long received criticism for its environmental impacts, dating back to as early as 1975, when a report expressed concerns regarding local pollution and carcinogenic substances. 1

This case study sets out how workers at the Ijmuiden site collaborated to develop a comprehensive plan that supports the decarbonisation of the plant while not only safeguarding their jobs, but also enhancing them—building the new skills and capabilities needed to drive the industry forward.

The challenge

By the late 2010s, Tata was receiving strong pressure from government and environmental groups alike to reduce emissions from the site, both in terms of pollutants harmful to local air quality and health, and carbon emissions. Tata faced regulatory action if it didn’t modernise.

In 2020, Tata Steel announced its ‘EVEREST’ project for the site, involving installation of a carbon capture and storage (CCS) facility to capture carbon emissions from its blast furnace and store them – via transport pipelines – in empty gas fields under the North Sea. 2 That year Tata also launched the “Roadmap+”, an environmental improvement plan for the site. 3

However CCS was later found to be unsuitable for the site. The nature of an integrated steel mill with many emissions sources such as coke ovens, blast furnaces and sinter plants, means that capturing CO₂ across the full site would be prohibitively complex, energy intensive and costly.

These plans came alongside a restructuring announcement that would see over 1,600 jobs lost due to company financial pressures. This created huge uncertainty for employees at Ijmuiden. Unions felt that Tata’s communication on the plans was poor and that huge changes were announced before adequate consultation or planning. 4

What workers did

The workers at IJmuiden knew that in order to keep the plant going, they would need to move forward in a green and responsible way and change the way they worked.

Unions were cautious about CCS as the main decarbonisation path. They wanted to move away from coal-fired furnaces as quickly as possible, and took the initiative to move forwards in a sustainable way.

In order to develop a plan, workers knew they would need to combine the knowledge of the workers, the union and industry insiders. They knew that there would be huge changes to their ways of working and gain new skills. They were willing to take the necessary steps to maintain production at the plant and shape the whole outlook of the industry to support a green economy.

Following the 2019 decision to cut 1,600 jobs, FNV organised surveys and strike preparations, which led to a significant win – a guarantee that there would be no layoffs until at least 2026. 5 The FNV also pushed for a commitment that workers would be reskilled for new roles in green skill production and related sectors.

In 2021 the union FNV publicly called on Tata to abandon reliance on questionable carbon capture schemes and instead accelerated a shift towards a fossil free decarbonisation route. They highlighted that a “green steel” model could preserve employment while addressing employment costs.

Gathering evidence

In order to formulate a new plan, unions (FNV, CNV, De Unie, VHP2) and workers needed to pull together enough evidence.

They collected worker reports on pollution, unsafe conditions, dust exposure, coke-oven smoke, maintenance backlogs and environmental risks.

They participated in local community meetings and listened to residence about dust fall-out, health complaints and quality of life concerns.

They also used findings from a study conducted in 2021 by RIVM which supported their claim that the existing coal/coke route was no longer socially or environmentally tenable. 6

And in 2021 an independent study conducted by Roland Berger was commissioned by both the FNV and Tata Steel. This study demonstrated the feasibility of producing steel using hydrogen by 2030. 7

Developing a worker-led vision

Unions realised that if they didn’t propose a viable long-term alternative themselves, decisions about the plant would be made without them – possibly leading to layoffs.

Gerrit Idema, Chairperson of the Trade Union Workplace Group explains further “We wanted our plan to be put alongside Tata Steel’s plan. If we ask then you depend on the company whether they want to go along with it. But we have chosen a different path. We have chosen a way to increase the pressure to the maximum. And we did that by talking to environmental organisations (and) we went to The Hague.” (the central government)

Unions played a key role in convening worker committees inside the plant, and held workshops and discussions with workers to bring together a shared vision for a sustainable future for the plant.

They worked with technical experts, including the government appointed Expert Group Health IJmond, to draft a full transition scenario which would:

Phase out coke and blast furnaces
Replace them with DRI technology (initially gas, then hydrogen)
Keep as many production units and jobs as possible

Added employment and training provisions included redeployment paths, reskilling programs, and transition rules to avoid mass layoffs. Workers at Tata have begun to take part in specialised retraining programs to prepare them for new roles in hydrogen-based steel production and to gain expertise. 8

In 2023 Tata Steel presented its Green Steel Plan to the Dutch government. The plan aims to transition steel production to a more sustainable and environmentally friendly process, by reducing CO2 emissions, switching to hydrogen-based steel making and implementing electric arc furnaces.

Their plan proposed fast, job-centred decarbonisation of Tata Steel. They proposed Directly Reduced Iron with Electric Arc Furnace route (DRI-EAF), instead of CCS 9 10 . They estimated that the transition would lead to a net drop of only 150-200 full time employees, compared with the initially proposed 1,600. They also identified the potential for significant new job creation in a broader green-industry cluster around IJmuiden, like wind-turbine manufacturing, green hydrogen and new plant construction. 11

They framed the plan not only as environmental but as industrial strategy: sustainable future-proof steelmaking.

Stanley Bostdorp, FNV Union Representative explains “...on the technical level, on the financial level, but also on the normal workers who have to carry out the work...there was one big mix and all our information and knowledge was shared in it...and then you can finally come to a good plan. And then there was also the outside expertise, outside Tata, which we took into our own hands, which ultimately made it a good plan.”

With a plan that benefits the employer, workers and the environment, made it a powerful tool to move forwards.

Building political and public pressure to make the plan unavoidable

Unions knew the company would not transform voluntarily unless pushed.

So they presented the worker-led Green Steel Plan to Parliament, ministries, and local government.

They held public meetings and press events to demonstrate that workers themselves wanted green steel, not just activists and residents.

They formed alliances with local municipalities and community groups facing pollution issues and were able to position the plan as the only socially acceptable way to preserve jobs and protect health.

Workers actively engaged with the Dutch government for policy support and financial backing, ensuring the transition to hydrogen-based steelmaking.

How were obstacles overcome?

One of the main challenges faced by workers at Tata was the possibility that decarbonising steelmaking would impact jobs and the future of the plant.

Rather than oppose the green transition, the FNV positioned itself as a partner in shaping it. They emphasised that climate action must also be fair to workers and advocated for a just transition approach that included job security, retraining opportunities and long-term employment prospects.

They did this by ensuring unions were involved in all major planning and decision-making processes.

By having formal negotiations with Tata Steel and discussions with the Dutch government, the union secured a seat at the table, helping to align decarbonisation goals with labour protections.

They were able to unite the different entities by which they could enforce the change – from stakeholders, media, business, Politicians and the community.

What was the result?

While the Green Steel plan has achieved meaningful progress in planning and policy, major technological changes remain underway. The project has transitioned from a high‑level concept to detailed engineering work and policy coordination — a critical step forward.

In April 2025, Tata proposed their own portfolio of changes that they hope will achieve their target of a 30-40% CO2 reduction by 2030 and an ambition to become CO2 neutral by 2045. 12 Some of the proposals in their plan include:

To replace/transform blast-furnace processes using Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) unit that can initially run on natural gas then switch to biomethane/green hydrogen when available.
To switch from coal to natural gas, (and later to hydrogen).
The potential use of Carbon Capture & storage (CCS). However this has been sited as one option among several and not necessarily the long-term favoured approach.

Engineering contracts for the DRI and EAF facilities have been awarded and the design stage is underway.

However as part of their announcement in April 2025, Tata outlined that they expected to lose 400 jobs, largely in management and support functions.

These cuts have been strongly criticised by Unions and politicians as contradictory to the government's talks about securing the sites future.

The other issue for workers here was that moving from coal-fed blast furnaces to DRI + electric arc furnaces or hydrogen-based routes typically reduces some labour in traditional blast furnace and coke-making roles while creating demand for different skills. The company emphasised that this would be a long transition rather than an immediate closure or all existing units, but the net employment effect depends heavily on the chosen technology mix and the extent of automation. The Dutch government has agreed in principle to support the transition with up to 2 billion euros in subsidies. 13

Tata Steel Nederland is also expected to contribute financially to the project. Beyond the cost of the government contribution, the remaining will be covered by a mix of Tata’s own cash flows and contributions, project financing/debt and support from Tata Steels wider corporate resources or financial arrangements. 14

Tata has also applied for funds from the EU innovation fund with an application of about 300 Million Euros to support decarbonisation technologies.

However, the deal is not yet binding and the final terms and legal agreements are still under negotiation.

Recent developments have seen the Dutch Public Prosecution Service file a criminal case against Tata Steel for alleged environmental crimes. 15

The investigation is centred largely on the operation of the coke oven gas plants, historically among the most polluting of the site.

Prosecutors also stated they were still investigating whether individual managers or executives should face personal criminal charges, although no decision has yet been made.

However Tata steel Netherlands has rejected the allegations and have maintained that its emissions comply with legal limits.

Success factors & lessons

Some key lessons to take away from the development of the Green Steel plan.

Proposed credible alternatives: Unions actively shaped the transition agenda by developing well-researched plans that supported both environmental improvements and long-term industry development, with support from FNV enabling workers to influence strategy early rather than reacting to company decisions.
Built alliances with communities and politicians: Through FNV, workers gained access to committees and political leaders, invited them on-site to present their plans, campaigned on the environmental and economic benefits of green steel, collaborated with parties such as GroenLinks-PvdA to push for government backing, and embedded labour goals within wider social debates to build a broad coalition.
Negotiated social protections and future job frameworks: Unions secured agreements guaranteeing training, redeployment opportunities, and worker involvement in planning new green roles, while seeking firm assurances that decarbonisation would not result in neglect or unfair layoffs.
Invested in expertise: They strengthened their influence by building technical expertise on credible decarbonisation pathways—such as hydrogen steelmaking versus carbon capture—allowing them to engage effectively with corporate and political decision-makers.