New NS staff strike: no trains will run in Zoetermeer on this date

“Dear travelers.” Every traveler in Zoetermeer knows that there is often an annoying announcement after these words. At the end of this week, that text will be heard a lot again, because the staff of the NS is going on strike again.

This also has consequences for people who want to travel to and from Zoetermeer. An overview:

Discontinued on this date

The strike will be on Friday 9 September. Initially, this would be in the North and Northwest regions, but this turns out to be the whole country. Despite the fact that the actions are regional, ‘NS sees no possibility to run a timetable in a responsible, reliable and safe manner.’ That is why there are no NS trains running throughout the country on Friday.

The NS staff will not only stop work on 9 September, the trains will also be stopped on Tuesday the 13th and Thursday the 15th. The NS expects that no trains will be able to run in the Netherlands as a result of the regional strikes, a spokesperson for the NS said. Working from home seems like a good option.

‘No collective agreement yet’

It seemed for a while that the strike might not go ahead. This was because the NS submitted new terms of employment to the unions. Henri Jansen of FNV Spoor says opposite the AD: “For the time being, what is now available is insufficient to withdraw the strike. And there is no collective agreement yet.” That is why the planned strike will continue next Friday. It is not yet clear whether the strike days will continue next week.

Just by tram

Fortunately, we are not completely dependent on the train in Zoetermeer. With the RandstadRail of HTM we can at least get to The Hague. Bus companies EBS and Arriva went on strike on Tuesday 6 September, and Friday 16 September is still planned. If the trains are not running on Friday 9, Tuesday 13 and Thursday 15 September, you can always travel by bus or tram or work from home for a day.