Once again, some of the bus drivers in regional public transport are on strike. To be precise: mostly drivers who are members of the FNV. They are not striking because of a new collective labor agreement that still has to be negotiated, but because of the current collective agreement.
‘Not done’ says employer Qbuzz about the strike. The FNV is more than right, because it believes that transport companies such as Qbuzz should first fulfill their promises made earlier.
Reducing the workload and inflation compensation are the keywords in this strike. But there is actually much more to it. The conflict concerns the current 2021-2022 collective labor agreement for bus drivers. It only came into existence this year and ended on December 31. FNV has not signed this collective labor agreement, trade union CVN has.
Qbuzz bus driver Dirk Visser from Emmen and union director explains why their members are striking over a collective labor agreement that will expire shortly: “We have not signed this collective agreement because we do not only think the employers’ offer is completely insufficient, but mainly because promises made earlier. In corona times, we were asked to slow down. No pay increase, not even an inflation correction. The employers’ promise was: ‘we will solve that after corona’. And what did they ultimately come up with? 2, 8 percent. That was not even the inflation correction since 2020. Let alone with the current increased costs of energy, groceries and fuel.”
But that is not all the FNV is concerned about. In times of corona, promises were also made about the elderly scheme and an early retirement scheme. Visser: “There is still no such scheme for the elderly. And the early retirement has become a scheme that is ultimately paid for by the younger bus drivers. A cigar from its own box.”