Public transport workers in Netherlands strike in support of early retirement

Early commuters in Amsterdam, The Hague and Rotterdam were hit by major problems getting to work on September 10 as public transport workers went on strike in support of their campaign for a better early retirement scheme, Report informs referring to DutchNews.

On September 10, public transport in the three big cities came to a halt between 4 am and 8 am (GMT+2) and public transport firms said it would be some time before services are back to normal.

On September 11, NS and regional transport workers will strike at the same time but then too it could be several hours later before trains are operating according to the timetable.

The strikes are part of a series of stoppages by unions in support of a new early retirement scheme for workers in physically taxing jobs. The current ruling is due to expire at the end of this year. The retirement age in the Netherlands is 67.

On September 9 it emerged that the government is thinking of making a quota part of a new early retirement package. Social affairs minister Eddy van Hijum said he wants to limit the number of people who take advantage of the option to 15,000 a year, and to exclude people earning over 74,000 euros a year.