Arriva Touring bus drivers are disappointed that Schiphol has deployed strike breakers for bus transport on the platform today. The staff went on strike for four hours today for higher wages and better schedules. Schiphol was able to prevent chaos by having the buses that take passengers to planes driven by office employees.
At Schiphol, bus transport between the terminals and the aircraft, as well as the shuttle service to and from long-term car park P3, has been outsourced to Arriva. The drivers want, among other things, a wage increase of 100 euros gross per month and that wages from now on rise in line with the prices in the shops.
Their regional transport colleagues from the rest of the country had already gone on strike last month. FNV and Schiphol had agreed that the Schiphol drivers would not go on strike then, because that action fell in the middle of the autumn holiday. The use of office workers behind the wheel of the buses caused a lot of annoyance to the union management and the drivers.
‘Very stupid of Schiphol’
“Very stupid,” says one of the strikers against NH Nieuws. “There are so many rules at Schiphol. It’s not about driving people from A to B, they don’t all know those rules.” A large driver’s license is not necessary at the airport, because Schiphol is private property. The office staff is also allowed to drive Schiphol’s large snow fleet in winter to clear the asphalt from snow and ice.
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Bus drivers at Schiphol strike for higher wages – NH News / Doron Sajet
Another driver calls it very sad: “Schiphol thinks he is in his right to do so. We have to learn to live with it, but it is not neat.”
‘contaminated work’
“The intention of a strike is that there is no work,” says Lutz Kressin of FNV. “Not that the work is taken over by other staff either. It is a gray area, because the buses are from Schiphol and they use their own staff. In addition, a coach company has been hired by Schiphol or Arriva for the P3 transport. That is contaminated work.”
Possible strike again in December
According to Schiphol, passengers were not affected by the strike thanks to the strike breakers. If Arriva does not comply with the demands of FNV, all their regional bus drivers will strike again in December. The union says that the Schiphol drivers will then strike simultaneously and throughout the day.