NS employees in Brabant will commence a relay strike from August 24 till August 31; the trade unions VVMC, FNV and CNV reported this on Wednesday. A spokesperson for FNV expects that no trains will be running. “From next Wednesday you may already have problems with your connection as train travellers if you want to travel outside our province.”
On 24 August, railway employees will start with relay strikes that will last 24 hours. The strikes will begin in the North region followed by the other regions, in accordance with the following scheme:
- North region – August 24
- West region – August 26
- Northwest Region – August 29
- region mid – August 30
- South and East regions – August 31
No NS trains will run in the region where the strikes are taking place, the FNV union expects. The relay strikes will last until August 31. If there is still no collective bargaining offer that the unions are satisfied with, the unions say there will be a nationwide strike a week later.
Failed negotiations
The actions follow the failed collective labor agreement negotiations between NS and the trade unions FNV, CNV and VVMC. One of the collective labor agreement requirements of the unions is automatic compensation for the price increases in the salary of NS employees.
They also want a one-off payment of 600 euros and an adjustment to the scheme to stop working earlier.
“Our members are well aware that the actions will affect the passengers. That is unfortunate, but the nuisance is inevitable and ultimately also in the interests of the passengers. We now see that NS is not getting the vacancies filled and that trains are therefore not available. Failure and social safety is under serious pressure,” says the spokesperson for FNV.
NS response
A spokesperson does not yet know what impact the actions will have on travellers. According to the NS, some collective labor agreement requirements of the unions are practically unfeasible. The company points to the difficult financial situation at NS as a result of the corona pandemic, which caused a decrease in the number of train passengers.
Source: Omroep Brabant
For Eindhoven News: Lila Mehrez
