Public transport strike over; Buses, trams, metros getting back on track in big cities
The public transport strike in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and The Hague is over, and the city transport companies are getting the metros, buses, and trams up and running. Travelers can expect delays for some time still as workers and vehicles get to where they’re supposed to be.
Workers for GVB in Amsterdam, RET in Rotterdam, and HTM in The Hague were on strike from 4:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. for a structural early retirement scheme. The current scheme expires next year, and trade unions have been campaigning for a decent replacement in various sectors for months.
GVB expects it to take until the end of the morning for Amsterdam public transport to run according to schedule again. The drivers of the trams and buses must first go to the depots, garages, and marshalling yards before they can start driving, a spokesperson told ANP. “That always takes time, but most people don’t realize that.”
HTM in The Hague expects things to be fairly normal from 9:30 a.m. “We are working hard on it,” a spokesperson told the news wire. The metro between The Hague and Rotterdam was already running again.
Rotterdam’s RET previously said it expected to be back on the regular timetable by around 11:00 a.m.
Bus driver Hans Groos was one of the protesters. He wants to retire early in a few years, but the current scheme will have expired by then. “I am 62 and would also like to make use of such a scheme,” he told NOS. “I have been on the bus for 35 years, including in the time when power steering was not so strong. So, my shoulders have suffered quite a bit. I’m worn out.” So he joined the strike this morning. “We simply want an improved and permanent scheme so that people can retire a bit earlier.”
“At least half of the people in city transport do taxing work,” FNV director Eric Vermeulen told NOS. “For example, these are people who work irregular hours and are confronted with aggression, such as tram, bus, and metro drivers and conductors. But technical people also do physically demanding work, such as removing wheels from trams.”
On Wednesday, NS employees and workers in regional public transport nationwide will go on strike between 4:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. Schiphol Airport is in court today to try and guarantee train service to the airport during the strike.
Workers in other sectors are also taking action. On Monday, cleaners across the country, including those at Schiphol and NS stations, went on a 24-hour strike. The police have been campaigning for months. Their latest action has resulted in Amsterdam banning an Eredivisie match between Ajax and FC Utrecht this coming Sunday.
