Join a Union in the Netherlands 
Join a union. I'm in the FNV. Membership fees are reasonable, and it is also labor legal insurance as well, because if you are fired, they'll give you a lawyer to negotiate your termination contract. They'll also keep you informed of other industrial action happening around the country, so you can support your fellow workers.
What if my company doesn't recognize the union?
Trade unions are done by sector in the Netherlands, and can be joined by anyone, even if you're self employed or unemployed. Even if you get fired/laid off, you still get to stay in the union. Depending on your industry, they can also help you find a new job.
Is it safe to talk about being in a union?
They cannot fire you for discussing your salary or being in a union. This is not only in Netherlands labor law, but also EU labor law. If you’re concerned about unionizing in your workplace building, meet off hours at a cafe/pub & tell your coworkers all about it. In my experience, most coworkers are either already members of a union, or didn’t know they could join one & join immediately.
Even if your company is headquartered in another country, if they operate in the Netherlands, they still have to let you join a union.
Also, if your company does recognize the union, you get to negotiate a contract for ALL the employees in the union at your company :) If enough people are members of your union at your company, reach out to the FNV to help you in the process of getting your union recognized by your company officially.
What if I’m self employed?
You can still join a union. They can provide legal help to you if a client doesn't pay you, including both legal letter templates and an actual lawyer that will help you go to court in the event that a client really doesn’t want to pay.
Tell all your friends that unions are cool and they should join one.
@domo An addition to this is that while there are designated unions per sector, there are also various independent grassroots/radical unions that you can join, such as Horeca United - they are generally anarchist (or similar) in nature, and particularly tend to exist in sectors that are poorly represented by the designated unions (such as, well, horeca).
Due to their (semi-)unrecognized status they do work differently from designated unions, and sometimes that's a good thing and sometimes that's a bad thing, so those differences are a good thing to look into.
