Public transport staff’s strike continues. The strike, scheduled for March 15, when the State Assembly elections will take place, will also affect many voters.
The strike started by thousands of people working in regional public transport in the Netherlands will continue on different days for 5 weeks from today. Especially if the strike coincides with the day of March 15, when the State Assembly elections will be held, it will create some problems. The FNV union, on the other hand, demanded that the government intervene in the negotiations to get out of the deadlock.
Responding to the call made by the Dutch Federation of Labor (FNV) and the National Christian Union (CNV), thousands of people, mostly bus drivers, went on strike again on Monday (March 6). It is stated that 1,300 train personnel will join the bus drivers who will stop working for a total of 12 days over the next 5 weeks.
In the collective bargaining negotiations, FNV demands a 16.9 percent wage increase for a one-year collective bargaining agreement, while CNV demands a 14 percent salary increase for an 18-month period. Employers’ union VWOV states that an 8 percent increase can be made for one year, with improved employment conditions, and the staff will benefit by 11 percent.
Buses will not run on election day
Due to the deadlocked collective bargaining agreements, 13 thousand employees went on strike in different parts of the country. This week, buses will not operate on Monday, March 6, Wednesday, March 8 and Friday, March 10.
The strike will continue on Tuesday, March 14 and Wednesday, March 5, next week. It is stated that the fact that the strike day coincides with the day of the State Assembly elections will also affect the voters going to the polls.
While calls were made by some circles for no action on election day, the FNV House of Representatives made a call to the Secretaries of State and State Assemblies, urging them to be actively involved in the collective bargaining dispute in regional transport.
FNV official Marijn van der Gaag said: “If the government, as an employer, provides a living wage and normal work for the personnel in public transport, then the bus drivers will not have to go on strike on March 15 and everyone will be able to exercise their democratic right.” used expression.
“Now all eyes are on workers and unions to solve the problem, but the problem lies elsewhere. The solution to this collective bargaining agreement conflict and therefore the problem that the passengers will experience lies primarily with the employers.” he said, and urged the government to take action to achieve reconciliation. The FNV official also stated that the negotiations between the unions on how to make a plan for March 15 are continuing.
Planned strike days
The strike days, which include thousands of employees, will continue until the first week of April. According to the information announced, there will be no flights on Monday, March 20, Wednesday, March 22 and Friday, March 24 in the third week of March.
It will continue on Wednesday, March 29, Thursday, March 30 in the last week of the month, and on Monday, April 3, Wednesday, April 5 and Friday, April 7 in April.