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He succeeds Marjan Rintel who left for KLM and will start on 1 November.

Former Minister of Social Affairs and Employment in the Rutte III cabinet Wouter Koolmees will be the new president of the NS as of 1 November. As a major consumer of the train, Koolmees knows better than anyone how well we have arranged things in the Netherlands. He also points out that NS is "increasingly under pressure" and points out that "this also applies to its performance". The D66 employee faces the tough challenge of getting the transport company back on track.

The Central Works Council of NS has advised positively on the appointment of Koolmees. “The Central Works Council has confidence in the new CEO. And is looking forward to working with him in these challenging times for NS”, says chairman Bas Kuperus of the works council. 

Also congratulations to Wouter Koolmees of State Secretary Vivianne Heijnen of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management. “The public transport is wonderful to work on, and there is plenty to do. I am really looking forward to working with NS, with Koolmees at the helm, to make the train more attractive for the passenger.”

restlessness

In any case, Wouter Koolmees will not start with personnel problems that cause strikes. The railway unions agreed on Tuesday 11 October 2022 with a structural salary increase of 9,25 percent, one of the most generous collective labor agreements of this year. This means that strikes at the NS are a thing of the past. The minimum hourly wage will also be increased to 14 euros, more than the 10 percent presented by the cabinet on Budget Day. Henri Janssen, director of FNV Spoor: 'We are extremely proud. Not only on the result, but especially on our action leaders and all striking members. Without them, this collective labor agreement would never have come about.'

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climbed up

Trade union FNV has confidence in Wouter Koolmees as the new CEO of the Dutch Railways. According to director Henri Janssen, the former minister is the "connector" that his predecessor Marian Rintel wasn't. This way Koolmees can help solve the problems with the staff that have arisen under Rintel, the union believes. Koolmees is a stacker: via the mavo and the havo he has climbed up to a university degree. 

In political The Hague he is seen as a financial brain. He worked for seven years at the Ministry of Finance, including as head of budget policy. In 2010, his first year as a Member of Parliament, he was voted that year's political talent. Koolmees (1977) was Minister of Social Affairs and Employment in the Rutte III cabinet from 26 October 2017 to 10 January 2022. From November 1, 2019 to May 14, 2020, he was also (second) Deputy Prime Minister. From 17 June 2010 to 26 October 2017, Mr Koolmees was a Member of Parliament for D66. He was then financial spokesman and vice-chairman. After his studies, Mr Koolmees became an economic researcher and then a civil servant at the Ministry of Finance and most recently head of budget policy at the Directorate-General of the National Budget.

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He succeeds Marjan Rintel who left for KLM and will start on 1 November.
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