The Netherlands should be prepared for train strikes in the coming weeks, as Dutch rail operator ProRail has announced that it is not accepting the wage demands put forward in an ultimatum from trade union FNV. FNV has followed up with an announcement that actions will take place in various Dutch cities from November 11 until November 22.
FNV gave ProRail until November 6 to accept the trade union’s terms or industrial action would take place. As ProRail has officially rejected these demands, public transport strikes are imminent.
“Then you have to assume that part of the train traffic will be shut down,” FNV director Carl Kraijenoord explained in a press release. “We would rather not. But if ProRail does not want to continue talking, then we have to.”
FNV has announced that there will be strikes in public transport services on the following dates, and it is expected that no trains will run as a result:
ProRail has recently informed FNV that it will be rejecting the demands for a 15 percent wage increase for workers. According to the rail company, this would require an additional 49 million euros more than what ProRail is willing to invest as stated in its final offer.
In its final offer for the collective labour agreement, ProRail proposed a 6 percent wage increase for middle salary groups and 7,9 percent for groups with lower salaries, while FNV wanted up to 10 percent and more than 15 percent for these two groups respectively. With the major maintenance that the rail operator is taking on, ProRail needs to keep careful control of its finances. “We have sought a responsible balance between a better collective labour agreement and the costs involved,” ProRail wrote in a press release.
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