NS has displayed solidarity with public transport authorities in the Netherlands, pledging to join Monday’s strike in protest of the current retirement age. The plan is to freeze the retirement age at 66. It is for this reason that the protest will last 66 minutes.
Looks like we’re in for a long Monday. NS announced that it will join an early morning strike in Amsterdam, The Hague and Rotterdam held by city and regional public transit companies. Previously GVB was leading the strike, it is now joined by NS making everyone’s Monday journey a little delayed.
When will trains be delayed?
The strike means that during Monday morning rush-hour there will be no train, bus, tram or subway traffic in Rotterdam, The Hague and Amsterdam. Trams, buses, and subways that are on the timetable for before 6:00 a.m. will also not run.
“This is about a decent and timely pension for everyone. That is why we hope that the public and travelers understand the action”, FNV director Henri Janssen tells AD.nl
NS joins the protest against late retirement
The significance of NS joining the protest can’t be ignored, all public transport workers agree that they are working for longer and longer. They are seeking to change the rules in favour of the worker. If they are successful the age of retirement would be frozen at 66. The strike will symbolically begin at 6:00 a.m. and run for 66 minutes.
This is not the first time unionized transportation workers have protested. Just last year they protested really hard for fairer working conditions and pressured positive changes from within their industry. The unions are also calling for strikes in the ports of Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Zeeland.
The protest for a fair retirement age will reach far and wide. Expect to see striking in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Eindhoven, Den Helder, Hoorn, Alkmaar, Enkhuizen, Utrecht, Zwolle, The Hague, Hengelo, Enschede, Arnhem, Maastricht, Heerlen or elsewhere.
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