Strike for higher wages to bring Dutch trains to a halt Tuesday

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

Only trains to and from Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport, as well as Thalys and Eurostar international operators, will be running, NS Railways said in a statement on Monday.

It will be the first time the national service has been cancelled, after three days of regional strikes last week.

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

Among union demands is an increase in base pay of 100 euros (nearly $100) per month, and a minimum wage increase to 14 euros per hour.

(Reporting by Anthony Deutsch; Editing by Nick Macfie)