This week, regional transport across the country is on strike. Nevertheless, according to the transport companies, about half of all buses are still running. So there are many drivers who choose not to strike. FNV is today in Groningen where a manifestation is taking place.
“Around 80 to 90 percent of the buses do not run here. Traditionally, there has been a great willingness to strike in this region,” Edwin Kuiper of FNV told Editie NL. “Yet it is never 100 percent. There are always people who want to keep working and you have to respect that.”
Although that can cause some tension between the strikers and the non-strikers. “We have to make sure things stay tidy. That often works, but not always. For example, we had an incident this week that the gate was closed for colleagues who wanted to leave by bus anyway. That’s very annoying, you shouldn’t actually do that doing.”
But colleagues will always try to persuade each other to go on strike anyway. “You want a large group to participate, so you try to persuade colleagues. You fight for something.”
Don’t stir up
Although, according to professor of employment law Evert Verhulp, that is not the intention. “You are not allowed to incite each other to strike. Just like the employer is not allowed to ask you if you are going to strike,” he told Editie NL. “It should be your own decision.”
And not everyone chooses to strike. “As a striker you have to report to the union and you want to be a member of that union if you want to receive compensation. If you strike, your employer will withhold wages. So if you are not a member, that may be a reason not to strike.”
But the strikers often blame the non-strikers. “The strikers think that their result also applies to the group of non-strikers. And that is often the case. The group of strikers is at risk, and the non-strikers benefit. That is the core of the resentment. It is often done lightly about striking, but it’s really something.”
To collaborate
This dichotomy can cause friction, although it is better to avoid it. That is also the best for the future. “You shouldn’t push each other or put each other in a jam because you have to work together again afterwards.”
