Schiphol largely unreachable by train as NS workers strike in Noord-Holland
NS employees are striking for a better collective bargaining agreement in Noord-Holland on Monday. The strike in the northwest region will affect the entire country, NS warned, including Schiphol. Only a handful of trains will run from Utrecht to the Amsterdam airport on Monday. Try to find alternative transport to Schiphol, NS advised travelers.
As with the previous two strikes in the north and west of the country, NS will try to run trains in the rest of the Netherlands as much as possible. But Noord-Holland plays an essential part in the NS timetable, so the rail company expects the strike will cause problems throughout the country.
On Monday, trains will run as far as the stations Voorhout, Almere, Oostvaarders, Amsterdam Bijlmer ArenA, Utrecht Central Station, and back again. No buses will be deployed in the area where NS workers are striking to replace the canceled trains.
The rail company advises people traveling to or from Noord-Holland to postpone their trip or use different forms of transport.
The strike will also affect international trains, according to NOS. The Thalys and Eurostar trains won’t run at all. The intercity to Brussels will only run from Rotterdam. The ICE to Frankfurt expects to be able to run from Amsterdam three times on Monday.
Trade unions FNV, CNV, and VVMC are striking for a better collective bargaining agreement. They also have strikes planned for Tuesday in the central region and Wednesday in the south and east region. If NS doesn’t present an offer the unions find acceptable by Wednesday, a nationwide strike will follow, FNV previously warned.
The unions want NS to improve workers’ purchasing power, more pension accrual, and better rosters, among other things. NS said it understands employees’ concerns about their purchasing power and work-life balance but added that the company is struggling under the tight labor market, rising prices, and disappointing traveler numbers. NS said it is willing to keep talking with the unions.
