Unions FNV and CNV said on Wednesday, 21 October, that actions in Dutch regional transport are suspended for two weeks. Thursday’s planned strike, 22 October, is off. The reasons are a second letter from the employers’ association VWOV and a return to talks. This is a suspension. It is not a signed wage deal.

On Tuesday VWOV had sent an invitation to the table. The unions said it was too vague. On Wednesday morning a second letter arrived. CNV negotiator Niels Rook said all proposals to worsen the contract, including worse rosters, had been withdrawn and that there were concrete commitments, enough to restart talks. FNV, through Marijn van der Gaag, said the parties are still far apart, but that there are points to work from.

On its site CNV publishes the employers’ offer as a starting point, not as a result: 2 percent backdated from 1 July 2026 instead of 1 October; for 2027 a maximum of 4.4 percent as total room for terms; older-staff schemes, the personal choice budget and irregular-hours supplements stay on the table; article 19 of the cao remains tied to a lawsuit. Other worsening proposals, CNV writes, are withdrawn. That is not a signed contract.

The unions still want 9.5 percent extra over two years and better conditions for older staff. CNV says explicitly: there is not yet a collective agreement. If in two weeks there is nothing acceptable, actions can resume from 4 November. Suspended, not off the table.

Earlier this month the unions had announced a strike day each week. Last week was the first: Arriva, Keolis, Qbuzz. On Wednesday NOS reported the suspension at 15:24. Headlines that close the dispute close a step the paper has not climbed.

Talks resume on Thursday. The buses should run. The contract is not signed.

Image: Robbie Klinkenberg, Arriva buses at s-Hertogenbosch station, 17 October 2021, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; the fleet in 2021, not last weeks strike.

Sources consulted: Regional-transport strikes suspended for two weeks, talks resumed - NOS, 21 October 2026; Actions suspended, public-transport cao talks resumed - CNV, 21 October 2026.