Yup, here we go again. Fifteen more strike days have been announced for Dutch regional public transport, and the first one is TODAY.
The rest of the strike days will take place over the coming six weeks, and affect Openbaar Vervoer country-wide. Yikes! 😮💨
Strikes aren’t going anywhere
In case you don’t know why this is all happening (and has been for weeks): It’s because there has yet to be an agreement on ongoing collective labour negotiations.
What do the trade unions demand? A wage increase for about 13,000 employees. 📈
Trade union FNV wants the salaries of the affected workers to be increased by 16.9% over a one-year period, while the CNV demands a 14% increase over 18 months.
READ MORE | It’s over! Dutch garbage collectors reach an agreement, all strikes are off
The VWOV (Employers Association Association of Employers Publicrepeatedly indicated multiple times that it cannot match the demanded salary increases. Their last offer was an 11% increase.
While people are starting to get fed up with the situation, the strikes likely won’t go anywhere until an agreement is reached.
I’m getting sick and tired of public transport in the Netherlands and their continuous strikes. They’ve been refusing every offer on the table to the point where they refused the last offer the company could give. You’re being a nuisance to the rest of your country at this point.
— Beanie 🙊🎮❤️ (@sacramentolily) February 22, 2023
Plan ahead
We’d love to tell you otherwise, but the exact plan of what OV will and will not run is unknown. All you can do to plan ahead is to check your route on the day itself, using sites such as 9292.
READ MORE | Public transport in the Netherlands: the complete guide
According to RTL Nieuws, NS trains should run according to their normal timetables, just like most buses, metros and trams in Rotterdam, The Hague and Amsterdam.
The reason for that is thatcompanies’panies’ employees fall under a different collective labour agreement.
All aboard the strike train
Ready to use the strikes as an excuse to work from home? Great, these are the days you can look out for. 😉
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Thursday, March 2
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Monday, March 6
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Wednesday, March 8
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Friday, March 10
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Tuesday, March 14
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Wednesday, March 15
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Monday, March 20
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Wednesday, March 22
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Friday, March 24
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Wednesday, March 29
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Thursday, March 30
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Monday, April 3
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Wednesday, April 5
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Friday, April 7
Do you think the strikes will have their desired outcome? Tell us your thoughts in the comments!
Last time I got even an 11% raise, I had to quit and get a different job. Maximum we generally get around here is 2%.