Part of the bus transport in the Groene Hart will be shut down next Monday, June 27.
The FNV has announced 24-hour strikes that are spreading across the country. Monday is the turn of a part of West Utrecht. The strike will last all day. This concerns transport from the offices of Syntus Utrecht in Mijdrecht and Montfoort. The strike may affect travelers as rides are cancelled, the transport company warns.
Syntus Utrecht says it will only know which rides will be canceled shortly in advance, but promises to do its best to remove canceled rides from the travel planners. Travelers are advised to look for alternative transport on Mondays. “If you do travel by bus, check the travel planner shortly before departure to see whether the bus is running,” the call sounds. The strike does not apply to the neighborhood buses and SyntusFlex.
The FNV union has announced national actions in regional transport because the members have not agreed to the final offer of employers under the Collective Labor Agreement for Public Transport. The unions want 5 percent more wages, retention of purchasing power and an increase in wage scales by 100 euros per month. They also demand concrete agreements on reducing the workload. With the actions, bus drivers want to reinforce their position.
Working pressure sky high
Director of the FNV Regional Transport Lutz Kressin: The regional transport companies only want cheaper and more efficient, as a result of which the drivers earn less and less and the workload is sky-high. This makes it increasingly difficult for them to make ends meet and the absenteeism rate is enormous. That spiral must be broken with a better collective labor agreement.”
In February, the employers broke off the collective labor agreement negotiations and suddenly came up with a final offer. “The employees had to make do with that. It was a meager offer and was therefore voted out by our members,” said Kressin.