Dutch train shutdown: More employers letting staff stay home Friday
Major employers are having staff work from home on Friday during the announced train strike, according to a survey by ANP. Meanwhile, SnappCar has recorded a 50 percent increase in bookings for shared cars due to the train strike on Friday.
The FNV labor union has called for a strike by NS railway workers in the Central Netherlands regions, which forced the national railway to cancel nearly all domestic trains for 24 hours beginning at 4 a.m.
The car-sharing platform has reported several hundred additional bookings in major cities. Most bookings have been made in Amsterdam, Utrecht and Rotterdam. SnappCar has asked owners of shared cars to make their vehicle available in order to offer enough cars.
Hybrid working has remained common practice at many companies since the coronavirus. On the last day of the work week, many office workers often choose to carry out their jobs remotely anyway.
At Unilever, people usually work from home a few days a week, said a spokesperson for the conglomerate. Working from home is also very normal at Rabobank, insurance firms Achmea and Nationale-Nederlanden, and accountancy firm EY. “We therefore expect the rail strike to have a limited impact on our employees,” Rabobank said.
Paint manufacturer AkzoNobel and beverage giant Heineken have both office and production facilities. At the office locations, workers have the option to spend the day remotely.
The AkzoNobel factories and Heineken breweries are often easier to reach by other means, like car, bus or bicycle. People often travel there without using the train.
It is very important how an individual’s employer views working from homee with regard to the strike, said employment attorney Pascal Besselink from legal services firm DAS. “Employees who cannot work from home and have no alternative transport should discuss the situation with their manager,” he explained.
Another option is to take a day off, for example. “The employer is not obliged to continue paying wages if an employee does not show up for work due to the strike,” he warned.
Car sharing provider MyWheels is also seeing a peak in the number of bookings. There are currently five times as many bookings compared to the same Friday last year. The number of reservations is also “significantly” higher compared to Fridays in recent weeks. This shows the importance of “a mobility mix,” MyWheels said.
“Not only for the daily pressure on transport, but also when there is a failure of one of the transport options, such as now with the train strike.”
An Uber spokesperson could not predict in advance whether it will be busier, because drivers decide for themselves when they will get behind the wheel. But he expects that many drivers are aware of the potential increase in demand due to the strike and will therefore go on the road.
The train strike will last from 4 a.m. on Friday until 4 a.m. on Saturday. Regular services are expected to resume immediately after that.
