ANP
News from the NOS•today, 22:16
NS Groenewegen’s director warned NS staff in an internal video message that the hours may need to be further reduced. The reason is the shortage of staff. “The rack is gone. The work weighs on an increasingly small group. With all the associated consequences: unstable shifts, insufficient space to take a break and failure.”
Groenwegen states that “man and power” was sought to reduce the staff shortage. People are looking for 2,200 positions out of a total of 20,000 jobs. According to Groenewegen, the gap cannot be solved with harder work on the part of current staff.
“If we continue like this, we may have to decide to further reduce our schedule,” says Groenewegen. By that he means even more than in August was announced. It was then stated that in the new timetable, which will come into force in December, 10% fewer trains are running compared to 2019, before the time of the crown.
More threats
Groenwegen is also concerned about other threats. On Monday, the Ministry of Infrastructure announced the conditions under which NS will be able to run trains starting in 2025. It says the government wants to assign international destinations such as Berlin, Frankfurt, London and Paris to other parties and “keep open the possibility of cutting even more national lines from our core rail network, “according to Groenewegen.
Groenewegen refuses to believe that Brussels is demanding it from the Netherlands. Don’t think that other countries in Europe are listening to Brussels. “In Sweden, tenders have stopped,” he says. “And also in France and in Brussels it is the national railways that can run trains”.
