Unions call regional transport strike, threaten weekly walkout

Regional bus services across the Netherlands will be heavily disrupted on Wednesday, after the FNV and CNV unions called a nationwide 24-hour strike in a dispute over a new pay and conditions deal.

If Wednesday’s strike does not shift the employers, the unions say they will hold an action day every week, and will only announce the dates shortly beforehand. Earlier this month they said they were considering weekly strikes in the run-up to Christmas.

Some 13,000 workers, mainly bus drivers, are covered by the public transport collective agreement, which expired on July 1. Staff at Arriva, EBS, Qbuzz, Keolis, Transdev and RET’s regional services are involved. City transport in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague is not affected.

Talks broke down after eight rounds of negotiations. This week an ultimatum to the employers’ organisation VWOV expired without a response.

“Employers are holding on to drastic cuts in working conditions,” FNV negotiator Marijn van der Gaag said in a statement. “In doing so, they are forcing their staff to take action.”

The unions say employers want to reduce sick pay, add more unpaid breaks to shifts and give staff less say over their rosters. Rosters are currently fixed about eight days in advance, and employers want to cut that to four days or less, Van der Gaag said.

The FNV wants a 6% pay rise. The CNV is calling for 9.5% over two years, as well as better arrangements for older workers and faster access to permanent contracts.

“We will not let employers sabotage the action by drawing up emergency rosters at the last minute,” CNV negotiator Niels Rook said, explaining why dates will not be announced in advance.