Wildcat strikes and collective agreements in public transport

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Once again, public transport in the Netherlands was subjected to a series of "wildcat" strikes in June 1998. Nevertheless, collective bargaining for Dutch Railways and the regional transport system have both resulted in new two-year collective agreements.

On 9 June 1998, trade unions and Dutch Railways (Nederlandse Spoorwegen, NS) reached an agreement in principle on a two-year collective agreement. According to the deal, wages will increase by 3.25% in 1998 and 3.75% in 1999, while the end-of-year bonus will be raised from 2.5% to 2.75%. The unions involved presented the draft agreement to their members with a positive recommendation. This included the independent railway union, FSV, although this organisation had originally demanded wage increases of 4.25%. In addition, current arrangements for early retirement will be replaced by a new scheme, with the transition period extended to the year 2015. The agreement came as a surprise: negotiations had reached an impasse at the end of May, and a nationwide strike seemed imminent.

A mere six days after the agreement, trains in and around Amsterdam came to a standstill due to a "wildcat" strike (NL9804170F) amongst engine drivers. The cause was a disagreement about the right to take days off during the summer period. This action was unexpected, since NS production managers and the works council had reached an agreement on this subject at an earlier stage. Nevertheless, the engine drivers, united in the Collective of Amsterdam Engine Drivers (Amsterdams Machinisten Kollektief, AMK), rejected this agreement. The strike itself was sparked off when promises of a more favourable arrangement were withdrawn, and ended once NS assured the drivers that the arrangement would indeed go through. NS acknowledges that there is a structural shortage of engine drivers, but emphasises that it takes time to train new drivers and that all attempts to recruit experienced drivers have failed. According to an FSV spokesperson, NS is reluctant to recruit new staff as long as it remains unclear what effects the Government's policies will bring. This reluctance has resulted in increased workloads for existing employees (NL9712150F)

One day earlier, on 15 June, bus drivers in the central part of the Netherlands called a wildcat strike. The strike was directed against the offer made by VSN, the largest employer in the regional transport sector, during the collective bargaining process. Although the biggest union concerned, FNV-Bondgenoten, did not support the action, it still intended to advise its members to reject the offer, which had been presented as an ultimatum. A nationwide strike seemed unavoidable. However, on 18 June, the negotiators reached an agreement in principle for a two-year collective agreement to cover the 18,000 employees involved. As was the case with the railways, the main points of dispute were wage increases (3.6% for 1998 and 3.4% for 1999) and the transition from one early-retirement scheme to another. The union members still have to give their approval for the agreement.