Ongoing labour dispute brings Dutch trains to a halt again

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Dutch railway workers went on strike again on Friday, bringing trains across the country to a halt as a wage dispute between unions and state-owned NS Railways continues.

Talks between NS and unions continue on Saturday. If unsuccessful, further regional actions are planned for Sept. 13 and Sept. 15.

“Although the actions are regional, they will have a national impact for our travellers”, NS said in a statement.

The strike also affects international trains such as Paris-bound train Thalys, London-bound train Eurostar and the intercity connection between Brussels and Amsterdam.

It is the second series of train strikes in the Netherlands in less than a month.

Unions are protesting against the suspension of collective agreement talks with the management, during which they had asked for higher wages to make up for rising costs of living. The company had 38,600 employees as of 2020.

Among union demands is a minimum wage increase to 14 euros per hour and the filling of 1,400 job vacancies.

(Reporting by Charlotte Van Campenhout; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)