The Netherlands Trade Union Confederation (FNV) has announced that this week bus drivers across the Netherlands will stage another three days of strikes in an attempt to push operators to agree to better terms for a new collective labour agreement.
The past couple of months has been tough for public transport in the Netherlands. After various train strikes brought the country to a standstill over the summer, September saw regional public transport operators stage five days of industrial action.
While successful negotiations over new workers’ contracts mean further train strikes are unlikely, the latest phase of regional public transport strikes will see bus drivers in the Netherlands strike on October 19, 20 and 21. FNV explains that the strike has been called in order to protest the recent cuts to public transport services and push for higher salaries and reduced workloads.
It is not yet clear exactly how many drivers and services will be affected by the strikes, but anyone planning to travel on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday should be prepared to face delays and cancellations. According to the FNV, 70 to 80 percent of regional bus services will come to a standstill during the strike - although during last month’s strikes an average of 70 percent of services went ahead as normal.
“The drivers find it extremely annoying for the traveller, but this strike is really due to the employers' reluctance to come to a fair collective labour agreement,” FNV’s Marijn van der Gaag explained.
Similarly to the September strikes, public transport operators in the major cities - for example the GVB in Amsterdam, RET in Rotterdam and HTM in The Hague - will not be affected by the strikes and will continue to run as normal. This is due to the fact that workers at these companies fall under different labour agreements.