Groningen: Bombs Explode Near Supermarkets

Yesterday, there was an explosion near a supermarket of the Jumbo chain in Groningen, yet the police could not find anything.  A few days ago, a bomb exploded in another branch of the same chain. A month ago a bomb was found near yet another branch but it did not detonate. The police think that since the bomb-laying took place at night, the perpetrators’ goal is not to harm people but rather to cause damage.

http://www.volkskrant.nl/binnenland/jumbo-in-groningen-ontruimd-na-dreigingsmelding~a4059069/

Quality Inspector Warned Dutch Railways about Problematic High Speed Trains

A number of high speed Fyra trains were commissioned for use by the Dutch and Belgian railways. A quality control inspector of Lloyd’s Register Europe sent the Dutch railways, NS, a weekly report regarding many problematic issues with the trains. Both NS and AnsaldoBreda, the Italian manufacturer, were informed that while the trains were properly designed, there were many faulty aspects regarding their assembly. When the trains were sent to the Netherlands, there were still hundreds of problems with them. At the time, the implementation of the project had already been delayed for five years. The trains were taken out of service after only forty days in use, and returned to the manufacturer, never to be used again in the Netherlands.

http://www.volkskrant.nl/politiek/fyra-verhoren-ansaldobreda-voerde-toneelstukje-op~a4045908/

Top Management of Dutch Railways Knew About Spying Concerning Competitor

The Dutch authority which supervises monopolies, ACM, has written an extremely negative report about the Dutch railways.  It says that the top management of the state-owned Dutch railways, NS, has broken the law by spying on a competitor in a bid to obtain the concession for bus and train services in the province of Limburg. It concerns a project worth 2 billion euro, which is to take place from 2016-2031. The president of NS has admitted that the law has been broken.

http://www.volkskrant.nl/economie/top-ns-wist-van-bedrijfsspionage~a4052528/

Dutch Windmills at Risk of Falling Apart

Owners of windmills in the Netherlands are short 5 million euro per year, which is what is needed to maintain and restore the windmills.  These results are from a report conducted by the mill owners’ organization.  Close to 200 owners of windmills have been interviewed about issues such as finance, structure and various uses of their mills.  All in all, there are 1,200 wind and water mills in the Netherlands.

http://www.telegraaf.nl/feed/24112025/__Verval_molens_in_Nederland__.html

Nationalizing the Police System has Failed

Two years after restructuring the regional police forces into a national unit, the project is in poor state.  There is a shortage of competent managers, the computer system is not functioning well, and the percentage of sick leave has increased. The costs of the reorganization have doubled from original estimates to 460 million euro.  In the initial period after the restructuring, the percentage of cases which have been solved also declined.

http://www.volkskrant.nl/opinie/wat-er-goed-uitzag-op-de-tekentafel-dreigt-uit-te-lopen-op-een-fiasco~a4049864/

Sexual Discrimination in Dutch Academia

Female academics are regularly the victims of sexual discrimination.  Four female professors at Leiden University have launched a website with information and advice about sexual discrimination.  They have published a document which mentions how male academics obtain promotions but female academics in the same circumstances are refused promotions.  Pregnant female academics are being asked whether abortion is an option, or whether they haven’t heard of contraceptive measures.

http://www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/24103437/___Seksisme_in_de_wetenschap___.html

Tax Authorities Helped Post Delivery Company to Avoid Paying Taxes

The Dutch postal delivery service, PostNL, has admitted that it had a secret deal with the Dutch tax authorities from 2011 to 2013, which allowed the company to avoid paying social security and pension premiums, as well as sick leave and holiday pay.  The employees were deemed freelancers even though they only had one employer.  The Volkskrant daily estimates that, in this way, the company saved 15 million euros. The tax authorities refuse to comment on these claims.  Labor MP John Kerstens has asked Junior Finance Minister Eric Wiebes to clarify the situation.

http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2015/05/postnl-had-secret-deal-for-self-employed-with-tax-office-volkskrant/