Regional bus strike in the Netherlands hits provinces unevenly as weekly walkouts loom

What happened on Wednesday

The unions FNV and CNV called a one-day strike for Wednesday, 14 October, in regional public transport after cao negotiations with operators broke down. They are asking for 9.5 percent extra salary over two years and better working conditions for older staff. Until a deal is reached, the unions want drivers to strike one day a week until Christmas, with the day changing each week if employers do not give ground. Drivers at Arriva, Keolis, Qbuzz, Transdev and EBS were called to lay down their work, and office staff joined the action as well.

Service varied sharply by region

The effect on buses differed widely between provinces. In Noord-Brabant about 10 percent of buses were running, the lowest share reported, while in Twente and Limburg about 70 percent were operating. The Achterhoek saw no disruption, and in Utrecht roughly a quarter of buses appeared to be on the road. In Rotterdam no buses ran, but trams and metro services did. The city networks in Amsterdam (GVB) and The Hague (HTM) fall outside the regional sector and kept to their normal schedules. Operator EBS said on its website that no buses would run in the Haaglanden area until at least 13:00, and it listed eight lines that would still operate.

Rail was far less affected. Arriva trains in Limburg stayed in the depot, but Arriva trains between Zwolle and Emmen, between Almelo and Hardenberg, and between Zutphen and Oldenzaal ran to timetable. NS staff fall under a different cao and did not strike.

Why some drivers kept working

In Utrecht the picture was uneven because operator U-OV employs many self-employed drivers, who cannot afford to lose a day's pay. Several drivers said they kept working for their passengers. One self-employed driver said he wanted to help people, while a salaried driver who is not a union member said he would not receive strike pay and that colleagues who asked for a day off were refused. Drivers said Transdev had been bringing in self-employed staff since August, but Transdev said no extra self-employed drivers had been deployed ahead of the strike.

In Drenthe the picture was different. Many bus drivers across the province answered the call, and most buses stayed in the depot. A woman driver in Emmen who walked out said the employers want more unpaid breaks, which would mean longer shifts.

If you push through deteriorations, such as wages not keeping pace with inflation, then there will be strikes.

Stijn Duursma of FNV made the same point and added that strikes are not pleasant but necessary, pointing to the disappearance of bus stops and routes and to further planned cuts.

Operators and employers respond

Qbuzz regional director Laurence Hovenkamp said buses were running with staff who were not striking, but that the company had no clear picture of how many. Drivers who came to work would run their own shifts, so Qbuzz would not change connections, and it expected the strike to be hard on travellers.

Striking is a right, and working conditions are important to everyone, but it is a rather heavy instrument.

The employers said public transport faces heavy financial pressure, that costs are rising faster than revenue, and that operators cannot simply pass those costs on. They argued the unions were refusing to talk and that the strike would deepen the financial problems rather than solve them. They also said travellers and clients were being hit by a conflict in which they are not a party.

What comes next

The unions have said that until an agreement is reached, drivers will strike one day a week until Christmas, with a different day each week. Operators warned travellers to check their journeys shortly before departure, because timetables are often adjusted at the last minute when it is unclear which staff will walk out. Qbuzz said a ride that appears as available in the travel planner could still be changed or cancelled later.