The three trade unions for NS staff and the management of the railway company failed to reach an agreement on a new collective labor agreement on Thursday. This means that the NS employees will definitively stop working in the west of the country on Friday. It was the first time since last week’s train strikes that VVMC, FNV and CNV sat down with the NS management. The unions had questions about the renewed proposal that the NS management sent on Tuesday. This includes a wage increase of 5 percent, with a further 2.5 percent from 1 January 2023, plus a one-off payment of 650 euros. NS decided on Wednesday to suspend all train traffic throughout the country if it were to be discontinued in the Northwest and West regions. The timetable and coordination of train traffic are so intertwined that regional strikes lead to national problems. (NRC)
A version of this article also appeared in the newspaper of September 9, 2022