New regional transport strike won’t accomplish anything, employers say

The new regional transport strike announced by FNV and CNV for Wednesday and Friday “is not going to accomplish anything, because employers simply cannot meet the unions’ demands,” said the Public Transport Employers Association (VWOV). “We find it very disappointing that unions are choosing this direction.”

The announcement of new national strikes by the workers who serve wider areas was made two weeks after a recent five-day strike in regional transport. The employees want a new collective labor agreement with wages that increase in line with inflation and measures to reduce the high workload. FNV is demanding a wage increase of 16.9 percent for a collective labor agreement for one year. CNV is demanding 14 percent spread over eighteen months.

The chair of the VWOV, Fred Kagie, responded by again saying that the money for those wage demands is not there. “Strikes do not mean that the money is suddenly there. The margins in public transport are very small. Transport companies have been running in the red since coronavirus. Going on strike does not get us to the table. As long as there is a strike and these ultimatums remain on the table, we will not enter into a discussion.”

The employers’ association indicated that the impact of the strike will only become clear on the specific dates when the strikes take place. With previous strikes, the idea was that about 50 percent of regional transport could continue to operate across the Netherlands, with differences in specific regions, according to the VWOV. “Even if many buses are running, but yours is not, you will be very disappointed. It also affects the atmosphere in the companies and the image of the sector. It costs employees money, it costs employers money and it does not get us to the table,” Kagje said.

The new labor actions relate to the large collective bargaining agreement in regional transport that covers 13,000 employees, mainly bus drivers. A smaller collective agreement covers 1,300 workers, mainly train staff. There was also a recent strike among this group during negotiations for a new collective labor agreement.

The VWOV represents the companies Arriva, EBS, Keolis Nederland, RET, Transdev and Qbuzz.