Trade union annoucnes 24-hour train strike, other labor actions in September

Trade union FNV will carry out various labor actions in the first two weeks of September, chairman Hans Spekman announced. The union intends to bring train traffic to a halt for 24 hours and to stage strikes in the government services, at ports, and in hospitals, NU.nl reports.

The strikes are a protest against the Cabinet’s plans to cut spending on social security benefits.

The railway strike will happen early in September, Spekman said. On June 24, the trade unions halted public transport for four hours in a strike. The action in September will have a “significantly greater impact,” Spekman said.

FNV is also planning actions at the government level, in ports, hospitals, and care homes. The hospital and care home actions will not be strikes, and employees will continue to safeguard the health and safety of the people in their care, Spekman said.

Spekman acknowledged that the strikes will be inconvenient. No one strikes for fun, he said. But the Cabinet is not listening and is not budging, so action is needed, according to the FNV chairman.

The union hasn’t set a date for the railway strike yet.