It was one of those days when everything felt off. Then the email came: NS employees are striking again. ‘Oh my god, they are so annoying’, I thought, reading yet another NS statement. Last Friday was the first walkout, organized by the union after failed negotiations. Now, it looks like the strike might drag on, and no one knows for how long.
Stressed about how we would get where we needed to be, many friends and co-workers kept returning to the frustration of being unable to use the public transport as usual. ‘It is always so inconvenient’, one friend said. ‘Why do we need to suffer from missed appointments, flights, or reservations?’
NS’s statements only made it worse, piling on more train-free days and calling it unfortunate for passengers, while offering no real solutions.
At first, I fully shared the sentiment. Indeed, why should I have to jump through hoops or pay more to make it to my commitments, especially for something that felt so far removed from my own life?
But as I started researching alternative routes and timelines for my upcoming trips, I stumbled upon a few articles that went beyond just the disruption. When I read more about why the strike was happening, it suddenly didn’t feel so distant anymore.
When it’s university budget cuts, we tend to stand together in solidarity
The union demanded a pay increase of 4 percent and improved working conditions. In response, NS has offered a ‘scandalous’ 2.55 percent instead, failing collective labor agreement talks. To be frank, I would be furious, too. And I bet many of those frustrated friends and colleagues would also be if they remembered themselves in that position.
Because when it’s university budget cuts or human rights protests, we tend to stand together in solidarity. But when the impact hits closer to home and messes with our travel plans, we somehow slip into a different mindset. It becomes personal. We forget that the train conductors and station workers are just people, too, trying to get by in the same recession we’re all feeling.
Maybe we take essential workers for granted or let corporate PR shape our views before we know the facts. Maybe our empathy just wavers when the consequences hit home. Either way, it is good to be aware of it. Only by realizing that, we could redirect that irritation away from the workers themselves and toward the employers who refuse to meet basic demands.
Living in a country that prides itself on fair working and living conditions means supporting those values, even when it causes a bit of personal inconvenience. I’d like to believe that if I have to strike for fair treatment in whichever field, the people around me wouldn’t be angry at me for standing up but at the system that made it necessary in the first place.
So the next time a strike email lands in my inbox I will still sigh, but I’ll be rooting for them, not against.
LIZA KOLOMIIETS