NS trains and other forms of public transportation across the north may come to a standstill between 6 a.m. and 7:06 a.m. due to a 66-minute-long strike.
The duration of the strike is connected to the age at which public transport employees can retire. RTV Noord reports that the public transport unions FNV, CNV and VCP are calling for the retirement age to be capped at 66. The unions also want the pensions to be “indexed”, which means that pensions should increase if prices also increase, and for self-employed individuals to also be granted better pension terms.
According to RTV Drenthe, it remained unclear as of Friday whether or not Arriva would be taking part in Drenthe, Friesland and Groningen. Arriva’s site says that employees in Limburg, Brabant and South Holland were likely to participate, but stated that their trains and buses would be running a normal service on Monday. “Our employees may be wearing ‘actiebutton 66’ buttons on their uniforms”, the site reads. Qbuzz did not have any details on their site about the strike as of Friday afternoon.
The Leeuwarder Courant writes that train travel on NS trains is likely to be impacted all day on Monday due to the morning rush hour strike. In Groningen, the unions will hold a demonstration and protest march starting at the Grote Markt on Monday afternoon.
Monday will also mark a day of protest for a number of other industries, including construction, metal works and cleaners. Employees at UMCG and the Delfzijl Chemical Park are also planning to take part in the Groningen protest. A number of other cities, including Zwolle, will also host protest activities on Monday.