Public transport workers in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague will go on a 24-hour strike on November 20 in protest at government cuts and the contracting out of services.

The strike will go ahead as planned because talks with transport minister Melanie Schultz van Haegen failed to generate results, union official Eric Vermeulen is quoted as saying by news agency ANP.
Public transport workers are angry at government plans to force the three big cities to put public transport services out to private competition. They say jobs and services will be cut if the government goes ahead.
They are also angry about government spending cuts on public transport services. In total, Schultz van Haegen is slicing €120m off public transport spending – the amount she says the three cities would save if they put bus and tram services out to tender.
All three city councils want to keep public transport in their own hands.