The NS presents a final collective bargaining proposal to the unions

The NS has made a final offer to the unions and hopes to end the conflict about the new collective labor agreement. The offer from the railway company includes a higher salary and an improved structural arrangement for staff with heavy occupations who want to retire earlier.

The NS is offering a wage increase of 4 percent for this year from March 1. Their last offer was a 3.25 percent increase for this year. Another 3.75 percent would be added to this next year. If inflation turns out to be higher next year than currently expected, NS staff will also receive a one-off payment.

In addition, NS indicates that different regulations apply to different business units. This is because these units previously each had their own collective labor agreement. These differences are gradually being made equal across the workplace. In this proposal, five differences regarding labor and resting times are made equal.

“In this final offer, we have looked for a balance between what is necessary for colleagues, what is possible for the company, and what I can justify to our travelers. I hope that we can progress together in this way,” NS President Wouter Koolmees said. “It is inevitable that we are now making a final offer. Our colleagues make a difference for the traveler every day. They deserve a collective labor agreement that takes into account the circumstances they are dealing with."

The unions FNV, VVMC, and CNV have gone on strike on four occasions since June 6. This came due to their displeasure with the collective labor agreements being put forward by the NS.

This has had significant consequences for railway travel in the Netherlands over the last few weeks. The most recent strike was on Tuesday in the North West and Eastern parts of the country. This followed talks between the unions and the NS on Monday, in which the parties did not come closer to an agreement.

The previous NS collective labor agreement, which expired on March 1, had a salary increase of an average of 6.6 percent. Even though the negotiations were also challenging on that occasion, there were no mass strikes.

However, the NS workers did go on strike in 2022 to push for a higher salary increase. This eventually resulted in a 9 percent increase in the salaries on the collective labor agreement.