Unions threaten 15-day regional public transport strike

Labor unions FNV and CNV are planning to a new round of regional transportation strikes if the public transport operators are unable to come up with a better salary offer in contract talks. The strike will take place on 15 different dates spread out over a six-week period.

The strike will start on Tuesday if the employers do not respond, FNV said. The lengthier labor action follows previous strikes, including two this week, as a result of failed collective bargaining negotiations.

"Employers stubbornly refuse to arrive at a good collective agreement including a living wage and reduced work pressure. They are the only ones who can prevent the strikes, which are very annoying for passengers," explained FNV leader Marijn van der Gaag.

Talks between unions and employers have reached an impasse. FNV and fellow union CNV called on their members to stop working this past Wednesday, and then again on Friday. As a result, trains and buses were not running in various regions. On Friday, this included trains from Arriva on the Vechtdal lines, in the Achterhoek and in Limburg. Arriva buses were only available on a limited basis in all regions, the carrier reported.

The strike are connected to the collective labor agreement in regional transport that applies to about 13,000 employees, mainly bus drivers. Employers' association VWOV has stated several times that it cannot offer what the unions demand.

For example, the FNV wants salaries to be increased by 16.9 percent over a period of one year. The CNV is demanding a 14 percent wage increase over eighteen months. The offer from the VWOV amounts to a wage increase of 11 percent.

CNV leader Hanane Chikhi called it "a waste" that the strikes have become necessary, saying their workers have really had enough, saying the constant “rushing and rushing” public transport workers face is a situation that has to be fixed.

“The working day depends on eating quickly behind the wheel, grabbing a quick coffee at the break, quickly going to the toilet. Having to do your hob in this way is an unhealthy situation. The result is high absenteeism."