Travelers throughout the Netherlands and the Amsterdam region should expect disruptions due to strikes in regional public transportation. On Wednesday, the ultimatum set by the FNV and CNV to the Association of Public Transportation Employers (VWOV) will formally expire without an agreement. The unions are now preparing actions set to begin in the week of October 12, with possible weekly 24-hour strikes continuing through Christmas.
Eight rounds of negotiations without a result
The looming wave of strikes has been a long time coming. Since March, the FNV and CNV unions have been trying to reach a new agreement for the more than 13,000 employees in regional public transportation—primarily bus drivers for companies such as Arriva, Qbuzz, Keolis, and Transdev. After eight rounds of negotiations, talks finally broke down in July; the old collective bargaining agreement had already expired at the end of June.
The core of the conflict revolves around wages, workloads, and improved retirement arrangements. The unions are demanding a 6 percent wage increase to offset the loss of purchasing power. In addition, they want more socially responsible schedules and better arrangements to reduce the impact of early and irregular shifts.
According to the unions, employers are insisting on proposals that would actually worsen working conditions, such as longer flexible shifts and more unpaid breaks. Because more than 97 percent of FNV members voted in favor of industrial action, the willingness to walk off the job is exceptionally high. The employers’ organization VWOV, for its part, maintains that a fair offer has been made and regrets the announced actions.
What does the threat of a strike mean for travelers in and around Amsterdam?
For the hundreds of thousands of passengers in and around the capital, the impact of the upcoming actions depends entirely on their transit provider:
- The city transit network remains intact: All GVB trams, metros, city buses, and ferries in Amsterdam are covered by their own collective bargaining agreement and will not participate in the strike. NS trains are also running according to schedule.
- Regional transit at risk: The buses and regional trains operated by Connexxion (Amstelveen, Schiphol, Haarlem) and EBS (Zaanstreek, Waterland) are at risk of coming to a standstill.
When will passengers hear more?
The unions will not announce the exact actions until shortly beforehand to prevent employers from covering the work stoppages with emergency schedules. This Friday at 12:00 p.m., the FNV and CNV will announce which specific routes and days of the week starting October 12 will be affected first. Travelers in the region are advised to keep a close eye on the Connexxion and EBS travel websites.
