It’s not just commuting that will be almost impossible at points this week — large-scale strikes by vital professions across the country will cause major disruptions.
Job strikers want their early retirement scheme, which expires next year, to become permanent — and the FNV trade union supports their action.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article incorrectly reports that public transport would not run between 4 AM and 8 PM on Wednesday, September 11. The correct timeframe would have been between 4 AM and 8 AM, and the article has been updated to reflect this.
Multiple industries will take action
In addition to the urban and regional transport strikes which started today, several other industries — including the police construction, and cleaning companies — are also taking action.
These are all heavy professions affected by the expiring retirement measure, so here’s a breakdown of the key actions you should note. 👇
Transport
We’ve known for a while that tomorrow, September 11, it will be almost impossible to travel on public transport.
In addition to several regional transport providers going on strike, buses, trams, and trains from NS, Arriva, Transdev (Connexxion), Keolis, EBS, Qbuzz will also not run between 4 AM and 8 AM.
READ MORE | Public transport in the Netherlands: the complete guide
During these times, HTM, GVB, and RET will be the only options running.
Police
The police are taking multiple actions as part of their strike, as reported by AD.
One way is officer absence from football matches, which has already caused match cancellations.
The Eredivisie home match against FC Utrecht, scheduled for Sunday, has been cancelled.
— AFC Ajax (@AFCAjax) September 9, 2024
The local authorities made the decision on Monday afternoon following the announcement of police strikes.
They are also issuing fewer fines for minor violations this week, and bailiffs cannot count on police assistance.
READ MORE | Dutch police shut stations for entire day as part of strike
And there will be no intervention in a climate march by Extinction rebellion towards the A12, which lasts from September 8 to 14.
Healthcare
While healthcare workers are not stopping their work, their action includes a photo moment and some employees are taking longer breaks.
Pharmacies, however, are on strike — for the first time EVER according to the CNV trade union.
READ MORE | Pharmacies in the Netherlands: 8 questions answered
The pharmacy strikes are currently happening regionally, but a national strike has not been ruled out.
So far, pharmacy workers have been taking precise breaks and not opening early or closing late without pay.
Other occupations
Strikes elsewhere among important professions include dock workers, who will stop working for four hours on Saturday evening.
Then, on Monday, cleaners from all over the Netherlands will also strike.
How do you feel about this week’s mass strike action? Let us know in the comments below.
People need to get back to work and stop witching. Where do people think the money comes from for increases, they need to pay for it in taxes and they are already high here. Foreign companies are leaving as its too expensive and skilled foreign labour wont come here as it is too expensive. Start contributing more and stop whinging.
Very inconvenient, but I totally support the strikes. Many of these sectors like police and healthcare really need better salaries and conditions.
The strike of public transport in the the big Dutch cities was on Tuesday September 10, other public transport it was September 11 and only in the morning between 4 and 8 AM.
Lost off gossips and untrue things in this piece of news. If you copy news, then take the true news.
this article is a little bit exaggerated, i m looking for others sources on the mainstream and I could not find . I recommend you guys mention your sources to make the news more trustful