The police will not intervene during the Extinction Rebellion march from Arnhem to The Hague next month, as part of their campaign in favour of a new early retirement scheme, police unions said on Friday.

The week-long march is due to culminate in a blockade of the A12 motorway into the centre of the city on Saturday, September 14.

“The police unions have decided to link their own campaign to keep the early retirement scheme to his demonstration,” the statement said. “That means the police will not respond to requests from mayors to end the march.”

The police will be present to make sure the demonstrators and other road users are safe, the unions said. “But there will be no police present during the blockade in The Hague,” the unions said.

The unions say the lack of government action has led them to step up their campaign. “The impact of the action will increase in strength if the government continues to fail to act decisively on the demand for a good early retirement scheme,” the statement said.

The police have been campaigning for a new early retirement package since the spring and have recently been boycotting football matches. That action has led to the cancellation of Sunday’s tie between arch rivals Feyenoord and Ajax in Rotterdam.

The current agreement expires in 2025 and allows police officers to retire three years early. However, they often have to make up the shortfall in income from savings, and the force no longer makes pension contributions on their behalf.