It’s easy to absorb a hit like on a rail because of the experiences from corona time. Nowadays, we are more used to working from home and employers are more in tune with it. Thus, the train strike will have less impact than before, the employers’ association AWVN told NU.nl.

Today marks the first day in a series of strike days on the track. Unions are calling for NS employees to go on strike for better wage agreements. These unions want, among other things, a one-time payment totaling 600 euros and a monthly salary increase totaling 100 euros.

The NS does not want to go along with this, because the economic damage of the Corona epidemic is still being felt. Due to the various closures, few people boarded the train and the booths are still less occupied than before. Statistics Netherlands figures show that last year 1 out of 37 times we went to work was by train (just under 3 per cent). Before the aura, it was still around 6 percent.

Where previously such pitfalls could lead to absenteeism, that is now different, AWVN predicts. “It’s easier to accommodate such a strike now, because more people can work from home than before,” said spokesman Janis van der Velde.

According to the AWVN, about half of workers in the Netherlands can now work from home. As a result, more people can decide to stay at home and, for example, come to the office another day. Van der Velde says: “This flexibility is a great advantage for both employees and employers. For example, a meeting can be held online. There is simply more than ever before.”

By the way, not all train traffic will stop on Wednesday. NS employees in the northern region (Groningen, Leeuwarden, Lelystad, Omen and Zwolle) were called to strike. As a result, in the provinces of Friesland, Groningen and Drenthe, and in parts of Flevoland and Overijssel, there are rarely any trains running. Next week it will be the turn of other regions.