Railway employees to strike in Den Haag, Zwolle on Monday
NS workers will be striking at Den Haag Centraal and Zwolle stations between 5:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. on Monday, union FNV Spoor announced on Friday. As a result less or no train traffic may be possible at those stations, NU.nl reports.
The NS employees want the rail company to again take part in concessions for regional lines and to keep shops and restaurants under NS control. According to the Union, this will also keep employment opportunities at NS. The union also wants NS to deploy two conductors on all double-decker trains. FNV believes that this will decrease social insecurity, ticket-less travelers and aggression on trains.
NS is already deploying two conductors on night trains between Thursday and Saturday. On the other nights teams of the NS Security Service provide additional support where needed.
"We're not just doing this, it is our last resort", FNV Spoor manager Henri Janssen said, according to the newspaper. "We have been around the table with the directors for a year and a half, and for a year and a half there's been no movement from NS."
According to NS, the company explicitly invited the union to come and talk. Previous invitations to talk were rejected by FNV Spoor, NS said. The company calls on the union to cancel the strike. The strikes at the Den Haag Centraal and Zwolle stations may also affect train traffic across the country, as many trains run by those locations. According to NS, the strikes could cause major problems throughout the day.
NS doesn't know how many employees will participate in the strikes or how much inconvenience it will cause to travelers. "We will do everything possible to reduce inconvenience to passengers", the rail company said.
