Increasing numbers of violent attacks against the staff of Dutch Railways have been a cause for concern among employees for some years. Following two high-profile assaults in December 1999 and January 2000 - the first of which sparked a wildcat strike - discussions between management and trade unions have resulted in an agreement on a series of anti-aggression measures.
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Increasing numbers of violent attacks against the staff of Dutch Railways have been a cause for concern among employees for some years. Following two high-profile assaults in December 1999 and January 2000 - the first of which sparked a wildcat strike - discussions between management and trade unions have resulted in an agreement on a series of anti-aggression measures.
In recent years, the number of incidents in which personnel of the Dutch Railways (Nederlandse Spoorwegen, NS) have been threatened and physically assaulted has increased, especially those incidents characterised as "unreasonable and unpredictable types of aggression" in a survey conducted by the consultancy and research agency, KPMG. In 1999, 3,400 of the 5,000 reports of aggressive behaviour were filed by ticket inspectors. NS employees working on trains indicate that they feel threatened, and have for a number of years urged that more personnel be hired. In December 1999, a group of fare-dodgers attacked NS employees with lead pipes, prompting a number of employees to organise a "wildcat" strike for several hours which disrupted train services in the Randstad conurbation during the morning rush-hour. As a result, discussions between management and trade unions on anti-aggression measures intensified. The latest violent incident on a train occurred in early January 2000, when a ticket inspector was stabbed, though not critically injured, by a fare-dodger. This did not prompt a strike, but talks between management and trade unions intensified further and an agreement was finally reached.
The Allied Unions (FNV Bondgenoten), whose efforts since 1995 to reach agreements with management on safety measures had previously been in vain, were able to point to the results of the abovementioned survey conducted by KPMG. The NS works council commissioned KPMG to investigate lack of safety and possible preventative measures. The survey revealed that previous agreements to deploy extra personnel on high-risk trains and implement additional ticket checks were not upheld, and the promised level of employee safety could thus not be guaranteed. The survey also indicated that: it is difficult to conduct ticket checks on double-decker trains; the means of communication available in trains are unreliable; and contact is frequently lost with colleagues at stations.
The trade union wanted to introduce mobile ticket-inspection teams, a second head ticket inspector on high-risk trains, additional checks at station entrances and exits, and surveillance cameras on station platforms. NS management finally agreed and stated that an extra NLG 40 million will be added to the NLG 60 million invested annually in safety.
Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (2000), Violence against staff under debate on railways, article.
