Dutch Railways board and managers resign

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January 2002 saw the resignation of the supervisory board and part of the management team (including the chief executive) at Dutch Railways (NS). The ostensible reason was a failure to achieve an agreed punctuality target, but the underlying factors included persistent poor relations with staff - NS experienced major industrial conflict in 2001 - and a tense relationship between the board and the Minister of Transport.

The whole supervisory board (Raad van Bestuur) of Dutch Railways (Nederlandse Spoorwegen, NS) resigned in January 2002, along with part of the management board, including the chief executive. This followed a statement by the Minister of Transport, Public Works and Water Management, Tineke Netelenbos, that she had lost confidence in the NS management. The supervisory board's primary reason for resignation was that the NS punctuality target - whereby at least 80% of trains must run on time – had not been met. However, the fact that the the punctuality level in 2001 was 79.9% suggested that there were more issues involved in the relationship between the board and the Minister, and that the latter had reached the end of her tether. Confidence, it appeared, had become the issue, not only as far as the Minister was concerned but also among the personnel of NS.

During the past year, the Minister has repeatedly had to deal with critical questions about NS services - relating to delays, crowded trains and cancelled services - in the Lower Chamber of parliament (NL0104130N). The state-owned company, currently undergoing privatisation and the introduction of competition (NL0102125F), has also had to deal with internal organisational and technical problems, as well as widespread staff dissatisfaction, with an absence rate of 17%. 2001 saw a series of major industrial conflicts, notably over the the introduction of controversial new rosters (NL0107136N and NL0106134N).

Organisationally it became clear during 2001 that the 'internal' privatisation of NS business units had led to inadequate communication or to overlap in a number of cases. The partial privatisation meant that no investments were made in equipment, as it remained unclear whether NS would be permitted to use certain new tracks instead of potential competitors (which, in fact, have still not materialised). This failure to invest has prevented problems from being solved rapidly. NS's internal and operational cohesion has been compromised, according to critics, and the blame for its failure is thus too readily laid elsewhere. One of the departing managers, for example, claimed that rebellious drivers and conductors had sabotaged the new schedule.

The fact that the Minister was able to introduce an almost completely new supervisory board during a press conference only two hours after that given by the departing board is evidence of thorough preparation. She has appointed Wim Meijer, a Social Democrat politician, as temporary chair of the NS supervisory board for six months 'to clear the decks'. Four senior civil servants from the Ministries of Transport and Finance will become members of the supervisory board. The former Schiphol Airport chief executive, Karel Noordzij, will act as interim chief executive for six months.

The Minister's appointments make it clear that NS has been placed under guardianship for the time being and that she no longer wishes to link the future of the organisation solely to a market orientation. It is also clear that improving mutual confidence between the management and the staff is high on the agenda, with cooperation - 'putting our shoulders to the wheel'- the aim. It is not clear yet what policy the Minister envisages for NS: further privatisation or state protection.