Let Op! Another round of rail and bus strikes set to begin

Update 12/09/22: The latest information from NS is that the train strikes for this week have been indefinitely cancelled.

As the summer holidays come to a close and people return to school and the office, many are trying to get back into their commuting routine. Last week, this was already made difficult by train strikes in the center of The Netherlands that affected trains across the country. Recently, it was announced that commuting may again be difficult as regional buses and trains are set to begin another round of strikes across The Netherlands. This article helps shed light on the nature of the upcoming strikes and relevant background information.

Upcoming strikes: What you need to know

Due to ongoing deadlocks in negotiations between the NS and trade unions FNV, CNV, and VVMC have announced that strikes will take place across the country in the coming weeks; different parts of the country can expect to be most directly affected on different days  according to NOS. On Friday 9 September, NS workers in the Northwest and West regions will strike, while strikes on Tuesday 13 September will occur in the East, South, and North regions, and the Central region will be affected on 15 September. Of course, strikes in one region, particularly the Central region with major stations including Utrecht, may have an effect on the trains in other regions. 

On top of this, regional trains and buses have announced that they will strike together with the NS as workers in these areas also seek increased staff presence to reduce workload and higher wages. The regional buses and trains also announced their own nationwide strike on 16 September. This is part of the local strikes that started 6 September (in the provinces of Flevoland, South Holland, and Zeeland), 7 September in North Holland and Utrecht, 8 September in Gelderland, North Brabant, and Limburg, and finally 9 September in Friesland, Groningen, Drenthe, and Overijssel. Trams and metros are however expected to run as usual.

Background information: Why are trains and buses striking?

The most recently announced strikes are part of an ongoing dispute between the trade unions and the NS over poor working circumstances of NS employees. These trade unions are seeking to negotiate a better labor agreement for NS workers, specifically focused on low wages. Specifically, they are seeking a €600 one-time bonus to be paid to NS workers and a monthly wage increase of €100. However, the NS has not been willing to meet this request, instead offering not more than a gradual pay increase of 8% over the next two and a half years on the grounds that it has not yet recovered from covid losses when there were fewer passengers and higher costs. 

There were already strikes throughout The Netherlands in the last week of August, however the unions have  stated  that because there is still no revised labor agreement, they will be going into another round of strikes. 

Likewise, the regional transport staff also got involved in seeking a better collective bargaining agreement seeking a better collective bargaining agreement  over the summer. Specifically, they are seeking increased staff capacity to help reduce workload and therefore also more jobs that offer attractive wages and more permanent contracts in addition to other objectives. 

Stay up to date on your commute: 

Figuring out your commute to work or taking your kids to and from school can already be stressful enough, and adding in national and regional rail and bus strikes definitely does not make it any easier. While you cannot completely eliminate that stress, if you have to commute be sure to stay up to date on the NS app and the 9292 for delays and cancellations.

To find out more, check out these additional articles by Dutch news and Dutch review.