Stay home during NS train strikes, travelers' organization says
Travelers’ organization Rover urged Netherlands residents to stay at home on the days NS workers will strike in the coming week. The first of the relay strikes will happen in Northern Netherlands tomorrow.
“In principle, this concerns personnel north of the Lelystad-Zwolle line,” Rover director Freek Bos said to De Telegraaf. “But if, for example, there are trains at a shunting yard in Lelystad that should be running in Noord-Brabant, they won’t get there either. That means that the whole thing can go wrong.”
Rover, therefore, called on people to look for alternatives when traveling. “Otherwise, you run the risk of getting stuck somewhere. Play it safe, to prevent that you end up on a platform somewhere and have no way out,” Bos said to the newspaper.
The relay strikes result from talks on a collective bargaining agreement stalling between NS and the trade unions. After the strike in Northern Netherlands on Wednesday, NS workers will strike in the Western region on Thursday, in the Northwestern region on August 29, in the Central region on August 30, and in the East and South on August 31.
Trade union FNV already warned that a nationwide strike would follow if NS does not present a more acceptable offer by the end of this month.
