The NS sent a new collective labor agreement proposal to the railway unions this morning, containing a wage increase of 5 percent as of 1 July this year. That confirms the FNV trade union, after reporting from AD. As of January 1, there will be a 2.5 percent wage increase. NS staff will also receive a one-off payment of 650 euros and the management wants to ‘make agreements about how to deal with the uncertainty of inflation’.
An FNV spokesperson informs NRC that the railway unions will take a good look at the collective labor agreement proposal on Tuesday afternoon and hold a meeting about it. The strikes planned for next Friday will continue “for the time being”, he says. “We will continue to strike until we think there is a good collective labor agreement.”
In the letter containing the improved collective labor agreement proposal, the NS management puts on a fine cloth. Richard Greve, Human Resources Director, acknowledges that the transport company has made mistakes. The NS has reacted too late to the tight labor market due to the corona pandemic, he says. The consequences of this have fallen on the shoulders of the staff: “unstable schedules, insufficient space to be able to take time off and cancellations.”
If the railway unions agree to the proposal, approximately 16,700 employees will receive an improved collective labor agreement. To enforce this, they held a ‘relay strike’ for five days in the past two weeks. Train traffic across the country was brought to a standstill as a result. On Monday, rail unions announced three new strikes, starting next Friday in the Northwest and West regions.