Labor unions reach new deal with NS after months of negotiations

The FNV union and Dutch national railway NS have reached an agreement on several points during negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement, the FNV reports. The union and NS agreed on a 1 percent increase in wages for some employees and that they will receive another 1 percent increase at the start of the new year. Certain workers will also receive a one-time bonus that can go up to 700 or 1,500 euro before taxes.

The new agreements come on top of the earlier deal between the union and the NS announced in January. Those terms were not accepted by enough FNV members and the contract was not ratified. The FNV and NS, therefore, continued negotiations and have now agreed on the updated terms.

In January, NS and the union negotiated that workers would receive a raise in salary of at least 240 euros. Staff would earn around 6.6 percent more, according to the union.

FNV called it a "reasonable" result. Agreements were also reached concerning travel allowance, meal allowance, and older workers becoming exempt from late night and overnight shifts from 2026.

Members of the union will soon vote on the new contract terms. "We were not able to get an improvement on all the subjects that we wanted, but we think these improvements will lead to broader support from our members and all the employees at the NS," FNV said in a letter addressed to their members.

The union added that the members will receive the new terms from the negotiations as quickly as possible.

It is good that there are new agreements with other unions as well as the FNV, said a spokesperson for NS. She emphasized that the recently agreed salary increase of one percent is in addition to what the train company agreed to in January. "Now it is up to the members."