Amsterdam’s transport workers have called a 24-hour strike. The capital’s buses, trams and metros will not be running on Tuesday.

The strike began at three o'clock on Tuesday morning and will end at one o'clock on Wednesday morning. Only the ferries across the IJ ship canal – which connects the city centre to its northern suburbs - will continue services.

The Amsterdam strike will be followed by similar industrial action in The Hague on Wednesday and Rotterdam on Thursday.

The strikes are in protest against cabinet plans to cut funding by several millions of euros and the forced privatisation of the public transport system in Amsterdam, The Hague and Rotterdam. The unions say the cuts will lead to job losses and a deterioration of public transport services.

(gsh/imm/nc)

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