Netherlands
Background information on industrial relations in Netherlands
- 28 Dec 1999
Netherlands: Jobs threatened at GAK social security<#PDF_LINK>It was announced in November 1999 that hundreds of jobs were in danger at the Dutch Joint Administration Office (GAK), which manages social security benefits, because the level of unemployment insurance and occupational disability benefits being paid out is decreasing as a result of the strengthening economy. Until recently, GAK was undergoing privatisation, but the government halted this process at the end of November. GAK is now to remain a publicly-owned company.
- 28 Dec 1999
Netherlands: Increased work pressure does not lead to more sickness absence among highly qualified<#PDF_LINK>In November 1999, the Dutch Central Bureau of Statistics reported that more people than before are working under increased time pressure, but other research indicates that increased work stress among highly-qualified people does not lead to higher levels of sickness absence. The majority of managers, a group known to work long hours, say they are happy with working weeks of between 45 and 50 hours.
- 28 Dec 1999
Netherlands: Labour shortages and ageing population prompt review of early retirement<#PDF_LINK>In December 1999, employer and employee representatives in the Dutch Social and Economic Council advised the government to abolish the financial advantages for companies contained in existing early retirement provisions, and suggested a more flexible pre-pension system. The proposals follow various government initiatives to keep older employees working longer, and a recently submitted Act on age discrimination intended to promote their participation in the labour market. Tensions surrounding labour shortages and the costs of an ageing population are thus now focusing attention on the position of older workers, following recent initiatives to boost the labour market participation of mainly female benefit recipients with children and of migrants.
- 28 Dec 1999
Netherlands: Social partners demand place in reorganised social security administration<#PDF_LINK>In November 1999, the Dutch government proposed calling a halt to the privatisation of social security and excluding the social partners from participating in its administration. The initiative unleashed harsh criticism from the social partners and outraged the trade union confederations. While unions announced plans for large-scale demonstrations, efforts to reach a compromise took place behind closed doors.
- 28 Dec 1999
Netherlands: 1999 Annual Review for The Netherlands<#PDF_LINK>This record reviews 1999's main developments in industrial relations in The Netherlands
- 28 Nov 1999
Netherlands: Insolvency law and the interests of employees<#PDF_LINK>Dutch insolvency law places emphasis on the interests of creditors. Employee interests are subordinate, but are not completely ignored. This is clear from a recent judicial decision and from a new bill that was presented to the cabinet in October 1999.
- 28 Nov 1999
Netherlands: Government's proposes mandatory employment for benefit recipients with children<#PDF_LINK>In September 1999, the Dutch government proposed obliging parents (mostly mothers) of small children receiving benefits to work. The proposal - part of the overall Work and Care Act - received heavy criticism, but it appears that a majority in the Lower House of parliament is prepared to vote in favour of a less stringent variation of the proposal. The FNV trade union confederation and the small and medium-sized business sector reject mandatory employment, which the VNO-NCW employer's association endorses.
- 28 Oct 1999
Netherlands: Employee-side board members proposed for large Dutch companies<#PDF_LINK>In September 1999, a number of political parties in the Lower House of parliament and the trade unions proposed adapting Dutch legislation with respect to the supervisory boards of large companies. The introduction of members of supervisory boards appointed directly by works councils comprises part of the proposal. Employers' organisations want to postpone any legislation and propose handling possible changes to the system in conjunction with topics such as takeover bids and anti-takeover measures.
- 28 Oct 1999
Netherlands: New attempts to cut the number of occupationally disabled people<#PDF_LINK>The Netherlands still has a very high number of occupationally disabled people and in mid-1999, the state secretary of social affairs and employment launched new plans to reduce the level. The social partners have generally reacted in favour.
- 28 Oct 1999
Netherlands: Mergers and internal conflict face FNV unions<#PDF_LINK>In October 1999, while a number of member unions of the Dutch Trade Union Federation (FNV) examined mergers aimed at maintaining their strength, a major internal conflict flared up within the AbvaKabo civil servants' union, one of FNV's largest affiliates. Meanwhile, FNV's membership growth has stagnated.
- 28 Oct 1999
Netherlands: Unions seek 3% pay increase in 2000<#PDF_LINK>In late October 1999, the Dutch FNV trade union confederation announced a demand for a 3% pay increase in forthcoming wage negotiations. FNV's target, endorsed by the CNV confederation, met with a chorus of disapproval from its affiliated unions, which are seeking higher increases. The unions have been under government pressure to reduce wage demands, in the light of tax reductions contained in a new fiscal plan. The largest employers' association, VNO-NCW, has adopted the same stance.
- 28 Oct 1999
Netherlands: Political compromise on proposed part-time work legislation<#PDF_LINK>In October 1999, the parties in the Netherlands' coalition government reached a compromise on proposed legislation which will give part-time employees the right to reduce or increase their working hours. Under the draft law, trade unions and employers can make alternative arrangements in collective agreements, otherwise this legal right applies. Employers can only deny employee requests to increase or cut working hours on the grounds that this specifically conflicts with business interests.
- 28 Sep 1999
Netherlands: Renewed debate about reform of the law governing dismissal<#PDF_LINK>Over 1999, a committee of experts set up in February by the Dutch Minister of Social Affairs and Employment has been examining possible reform of the law governing dismissal. Although reform of dismissals law has been attempted frequently in the past, the prevailing law has remained largely unchanged over the last half century. Nonetheless, the law's application in practice has changed.
- 28 Sep 1999
Netherlands: Problems with implementing Working Time Act highlight stress in hospitals<#PDF_LINK>The Netherlands' 1996 Working Time Act granted hospitals until 1 January 1999 to meet its requirements. In summer 1999, the health and safety inspectorate drew up an official report on nine hospitals that had still not properly arranged their schedules in line with the Act. The long working weeks of physicians' assistants raised special concern, partly due to the fact that their schedules are modelled on specialists' working weeks. Occupational disability amongst this category has risen dramatically over recent years, particularly due to emotional problems resulting from excessive on-the-job pressure. Preventive measures, including a more normal working week, are now under consideration.
- 28 Sep 1999
Netherlands: Social partners react critically to cabinet's tax proposals<#PDF_LINK>In September 1999, the Dutch government presented proposals for a radical reform of the tax system, whereby the tax base will be broadened, the tax burden shifted and higher environmental taxes levied. The social partners have generally been critical of the plan.
- 28 Sep 1999
Netherlands: Employers divided on right to work for asylum-seekers<#PDF_LINK>In September 1999, the Dutch Minister of Social Affairs opened the door to allowing individuals seeking asylum in the Netherlands to participate in the labour market, and the State Secretary of Justice is to present a plan for an adapted collective agreement to cover asylum-seekers. Small and medium-sized employers and the temporary agency work sector supported this idea, pointing to current labour shortages. The central employers' organisation, VNO-NCW, and the liberal VVD party, which is a member of the governing coalition, are opposed to asylum-seekers participating fully in the labour market.
- 28 Sep 1999
Netherlands: Hundreds of jobs hang in the balance at NAM<#PDF_LINK>In September 1999, the Dutch petroleum company, NAM, announced a sweeping reorganisation that could cut 450 jobs from its 2,500-strong workforce. The trade unions expressed their intention to fight the plan vigorously. NAM, which is based in the Netherlands' northern provinces, provides a significant portion of employment in the region and also generates employment outside the company. Provincial authorities responded to the plan with disappointment.
- 28 Aug 1999
Netherlands: Industrial relations changing quickly in sports sector<#PDF_LINK>Sport is a growth industry in the Netherlands, and has attracted increasing attention from the government and trade unions. Furthermore, the Flexibility and Security Act, drastically changing Dutch law on employment contracts, which came into force in January 1999, sowed confusion among employers and employees in the sports sector. Recent developments include a collective agreement for professional footballers, which came into force on 1 July 1999.
- 28 Aug 1999
Netherlands: Self-employed people without employees seek place in social partner consultation<#PDF_LINK>In 1999, the number of interest groups representing self-employed people without employees in the Netherlands has rapidly grown, while some trade unions affiliated to the FNV confederation now also include these individuals as a target group for recruitment. The increase in self-employment without staff stems from the healthy economic situation, diminished social security for employees and perceived greater opportunities for people to apply their talents in a self-employed capacity. Whether the current trend will continue in the future remains to be seen.
- 28 Aug 1999
Netherlands: Unions become involved in financial services and training<#PDF_LINK>In August 1999, several Dutch trade union organisations announced plans to support their members with financial advice and professional education, thus further developing the role of unions away from their traditional collective bargaining function.
- 28 Aug 1999
Netherlands: Union anger at top pay increases<#PDF_LINK>In August 1999, Dutch trade unions were angered by the latest evidence of increases in senior management salaries far above those awarded to employees covered by collective agreements, and the FNV union confederation thus threatened to sabotage the Dutch consensus and consultation system (the "polder model"). A promise by the VNO-NCW employers' association to urge its members to support a moderate wage increase has seemingly warded off the crisis.
- 28 Jul 1999
Netherlands: Trends in collective agreements reviewed<#PDF_LINK>A survey of the most important collective agreements signed in the Netherlands so far in 1999, published in June, finds moderate average pay increases of 2.7%. The number of agreements on training, flexible pension schemes and the accumulation time off has increased in recent years. While employers and, to a lesser extent, trade unions are in agreement on the issues to be addressed in negotiations during the coming year, both sides criticise aspects of the Netherlands' consultation and consensus-based system - the "polder model".
- 28 Jul 1999
Netherlands: Commercial healthcare for sick employees given green light<#PDF_LINK>In late May 1999, the Dutch Minister of Health and State Secretary for Social Affairs adopted a standpoint on the issue of privatised healthcare and possible priority treatment for employees. Politicians have thus given the green light for offering employees specialised care on a commercial basis for work-related medical complaints. Private outpatient centres have long offered specialised care, treating problems such as stress and "burn-out".
- 28 Jul 1999
Netherlands: Employment termination requests decline<#PDF_LINK>The total number of requests to terminate employment contracts declined in the Netherlands in 1998, according to the Annual Report on termination statistics, issued in summer 1999. However, the number of requests related to occupational disability has increased.
- 28 Jul 1999
Netherlands: Proposed four-day working week for primary education under fire<#PDF_LINK>In late May 1999, the VOO parents' organisation proposed implementing a four-day working week in Dutch primary education as the only plausible way to reduce working time in the sector. The issue of how to cope with ongoing working time cuts at a time of teacher shortages has caused concern in parliament, while one parents' association has unsuccessfully challenged in the courts a school's decision to introduce a four-day week every other week.
- 28 Jul 1999
Netherlands: Lower House intervenes to seek paid care leave<#PDF_LINK>Shortly before the 1999 summer recess, the Lower House of the Dutch parliament amended a government legislative proposal for unpaid care leave, proposing instead a paid arrangement. The proposed 10 days of care leave is aimed at enabling employees to take care of their ill children or other family members. The Lower House want the arrangement to be funded from the existing Unemployment Fund, which is financed by employer and employee contributions.
- 28 Jun 1999
Netherlands: Social partners agree framework for individualising terms of employment<#PDF_LINK>In April 1999, the Dutch social partners reached agreement within the Labour Foundation on a framework for the further individualisation of terms of employment. Whilst the essential lines of collective agreements will be retained under the Foundation's recommendations, certain conditions of employment may be swapped within a company on a "multiple-choice" basis.
- 28 Jun 1999
Netherlands: Employers push for fundamentally new social security system<#PDF_LINK>In anticipation of a debate scheduled for the end of June 1999 in the Lower House of the Dutch Parliament, the Netherlands' largest employers' association, VNO/NCW, is pushing for fundamental change in the social security structure. It believes that the new system should offer a flat-rate benefit at subsistence level as a safety net. In addition, employees should be assigned "personal responsibility" and have the option of taking out additional insurance against loss of income.
- 28 Jun 1999
Netherlands: Impact of Flexibility and Security Act on temporary work sector<#PDF_LINK>From 1 July 1999, Dutch employers must comply with obligations stemming from the Flexibility and Security Act. Following three consecutive contracts, temporary agency workers must be offered a permanent contract. However, in anticipation, temporary work agencies began dismissing staff in June. The FNV union confederation has condemned the mass dismissals.
- 28 Jun 1999
Netherlands: Trade unions file for bankruptcy of company<#PDF_LINK>Filing for a company's bankruptcy or petitioning for the suspension of payments usually spells trouble for its workers, but a Dutch case at the beginning of June 1999 suggests that it can also provide an effective way for employees and their representatives to bring pressure to bear on their employer.
- 28 Jun 1999
Netherlands: Individualised terms and conditions at Unilever<#PDF_LINK>In May 1999, Unilever signed a new collective agreement with trade unions in the Netherlands. Starting in 2001, it will allow employees to determine their own package of terms and conditions, containing individualised elements within a clearly established framework.
- 28 Jun 1999
Netherlands: More part-timers will receive tax concession<#PDF_LINK>The FNV trade union confederation has successfully persuaded the Dutch government to revise the new tax system scheduled to take effect in 2001, which was up for debate in parliament at the end of June 1999. The unions are concerned about employees who work limited hours in part-time jobs and who, under the terms of the plan, would not have been eligible for a new annual tax exemption of NLG 1,500. The government has now extended the concession to a much larger group.
- 28 May 1999
Netherlands: Industry-wide collective agreements under increasing pressure<#PDF_LINK>The 1999 Dutch collective bargaining round has seen moves by employers in sectors like construction, healthcare and banking towards replacing their relatively detailed sector-level collective agreements with either a framework agreement or a series of company agreements. By contrast, trade unions are seeking a single agreement for the entire social security sector in 1999, but the success of this proposal remains to be seen.
- 28 May 1999
Netherlands: Problems mark implementation of Dutch Flexibility and Security Act<#PDF_LINK>Approximately 80,000 employees with a flexible employment contract have benefited from the Flexibility and Security Act, which took effect in the Netherlands on 1 January 1999, with the intention of improving job security. However, a survey published in April 1999 has also revealed negative consequences for some 45,000 flexible workers. The Netherlands has the highest percentage of such workers in Europe with nearly 4% of the workforce falling into that category. Negative feedback on the Act in practice from nearly half of the employers surveyed surprised employers' organisations and caused irritation amongst the trade unions involved.
- 28 May 1999
Netherlands: Social partners respond to collapse of government<#PDF_LINK>The collapse of the Dutch government on 19 May 1999 seemed likely to lead to delays affecting several significant areas of social policy, notably amendments to the tax system and reorganisation of the ways in which social security is delivered. However, on 1 June the three parties involved reached agreement on a new coalition.
- 28 May 1999
Netherlands: New agreement follows action by local government officers<#PDF_LINK>In April 1999, local government workers in the Netherlands launched a series of protests in support of their demands in bargaining over a new collective agreement. By the end of May, they had accepted the third offer tabled by the employers, which includes a 4.5% pay rise over 18 months.
- 28 Apr 1999
Netherlands: Young employees with psychological complaints add to growth in disability benefit claimants<#PDF_LINK>A further influx of people registered as disabled under the Dutch Occupational Disabilities Insurance Act (WAO) has brought the total to more than 900,000. This, coupled with the government's plans to stem the flow by implementing more stringent assessment procedures, has unleashed a heated controversy in spring 1999. The changing composition of the influx of new claimants has also caused comment, since one-third are now individuals with psychological complaints. In addition, many are aged under 35 and the majority are women. Hence the need for preventative measures and active reintegration programmes has reached a crisis point.
- 28 Apr 1999
Netherlands: Civil service industrial relations move towards market sector model<#PDF_LINK>During 1999, efforts continue to "normalise" industrial relations in the Dutch civil service, with the goal of eliminating remaining discrepancies with the market sector wherever possible. However, tough collective bargaining and court cases brought against the government by works councils clearly indicate that the process is not quite finished.
- 28 Apr 1999
Netherlands: Government plans to create 150,000 jobs a year, with focus on ethnic minorities<#PDF_LINK>In early April 1999, the Dutch Minister for Economic Affairs released details of an ambitious plan aimed at creating some 1.5 million jobs over 10 years. Meanwhile, the Minister responsible for integration policy for large cities is seeking specifically to reduce unemployment amongst people from ethnic minorities. Unemployment amongst another target group, older people, has already been reduced.
- 28 Apr 1999
Netherlands: Proposed reorganisation of Central Bureau of Statistics withdrawn for amendment<#PDF_LINK>In early April 1999, the Dutch Minister for Economic Affairs announced a large-scale reorganisation plan for the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). The establishment in the south of the Netherlands was amongst the hardest hit, with a planned loss of 780 posts. Employees protested vigorously whilst the Lower House of the Dutch Parliament rejected the reorganisation plan and demanded amendments from the Minister.
- 28 Apr 1999
Netherlands: Technology group expands pilot mobility project<#PDF_LINK>In March 1999, the board of directors of the Dutch technology group, Stork, decided to extend the operations of its subsidiary Stork Mobile, which had been established in early 1998 as a pilot project to improve Stork Group employee mobility and "employability".
- 28 Apr 1999
Netherlands: Civil service negotiations: three disputes and an agreement<#PDF_LINK>Collective bargaining in 1999 for various groups of Dutch civil servants has been fraught with difficulties. By April, an agreement reached for 118,000 government officials marked the only progress, with deadlock in talks for local government officers, university employees and employees in the higher vocational training sector.
- 28 Mar 1999
Netherlands: Employers oppose work and care framework bill<#PDF_LINK>A "work and care" framework bill proposed by the Dutch State Secretary for Social Affairs and Employment, provoked a storm of criticism from employers in February 1999. The central employers' organisation, VNO-NCW, and the organisation representing small and medium-sized businesses, MKB, both voiced their dissatisfaction over the proposal. The main point of contention is a provision obliging employers to allow employees a 10-day period of paid care leave per year. However, most of the parties involved, including employers, support the State Secretary's attempts to harmonise policy by means of the Act.
- 28 Mar 1999
Netherlands: Dispute between management and works council in Employment Service<#PDF_LINK>The central works council of the Dutch Employment Service has withdrawn its support from management. The move was taken in March 1999, against the backdrop of an impending reorganisation following a string of earlier reorganisations.
- 28 Mar 1999
Netherlands: Banking unions split, construction negotiations deadlocked<#PDF_LINK>Negotiations are not running smoothly in some sectors during the Netherlands' 1999 bargaining round. One of the trade unions representing banking workers angered the other unions in the sector by putting the employers' final bid to its members in March 1999. Meanwhile, negotiations in the construction sector ground to a halt again, rasing the possibility that the sector could be without a collective agreement as of 1 April.
- 28 Mar 1999
Netherlands: Public broadcasting strike results in collective agreement<#PDF_LINK>Trade unions and employers in the Dutch public broadcasting sector finally signed a new 21-month collective agreement on 18 March 1999, following unconventional industrial action consisting of adverts and a number of brief blackouts on radio and television. The agreement reflects most of the unions' demands.
- 28 Feb 1999
Netherlands: Occupational disability: a Dutch disease?<#PDF_LINK>The number of occupationally disabled employees in the Netherlands remains significantly higher than in any other European country, with figures still on the rise in 1998. However, government proposals advanced in January 1999 containing seemingly minor amendments to the Occupational Disability Insurance Act (WAO) have aroused substantial criticism. Employers and employees are divided over how the issue should be tackled.
- 28 Feb 1999
Netherlands: Unions and temporary agencies agree over consequences of new Act<#PDF_LINK>In early 1999, trade unions and the ABU temporary employers' organisation reached a collective agreement on the consequences of the Flexibility and Security Act, which took effect on 1 January 1999. An agreement dealing with the Act's consequences was also reached in the primary education sector, following intervention by parliament and the ministers concerned.
- 28 Feb 1999
Netherlands: Work and care framework bill proposes family care leave<#PDF_LINK>New draft legislation will - if enacted - grant Dutch employees the right to a maximum of 10 days' paid leave to care for an ill member of their immediate family. The proposal forms part of a groundbreaking new "work and care" Act, also covering adoption leave, long-term unpaid family care leave and part-time employment, presented by state secretary Annelies Verstand-Bogaert of the Ministry of Social Affairs in February 1999.
- 28 Jan 1999
Netherlands: Flexicurity Act makes major changes to labour law<#PDF_LINK>From 1 January 1999, the date on which the Flexibility and Security Act came into force, several areas of Dutch labour law have begun to look quite different. There has already been a degree of controversy about some of the potential effects, such as the cost of terminating an employment contract. At this initial stage at least, the social partners have reacted quite differently to the Act that they were themselves largely responsible for creating.
- 28 Jan 1999
Netherlands: Tensions over terms and conditions in public sector challenge polder model<#PDF_LINK>In late 1998 and early 1999, the Dutch education sector and police force have seen bitter pay disputes, while central and local government civil servants have announced pay demands that far exceed what the government feels it can offer in 1999. The differences appear unbridgeable for the time being, and strikes were expected in the police force and education. The Dutch consultation system (the "polder model"), partly as a result of its own success, is now being put to the test.
- 28 Jan 1999
Netherlands: Teachers strike, but police sign collective agreement<#PDF_LINK>The threat of strikes proved sufficient to produce a new collective agreement for the Dutch police force on 16 January 1999. Teachers' trade unions, on the other hand, launched a series of rotating nationwide strikes on 18 January to underline their demands. Both sides in the teachers' conflict are now assessing the outcome of the police dispute as a possible model.
- 28 Jan 1999
Netherlands: Employers demand more stringent policy on disability benefits<#PDF_LINK>In January 1999, the main Dutch employers' organisation, VNO/NCW, demanded more stringent government implementation of the Occupational Disability Insurance Act. Despite the Prime Minister's cautious reaction, the state secretary responsible has pledged stricter application of the Act in future. The Liberal Party has called for the adoption of far-reaching measures, while the FNV trade union confederation's reaction to the employers' position has been highly dismissive.
- 28 Jan 1999
Netherlands: Union membership rises, while largest union announces reorganisation<#PDF_LINK>All three main trade union confederations in the Netherlands witnessed a slight net increase in their membership in 1998. Meanwhile, FNV Bondgenoten, the largest Dutch union - the result of a merger in 1998 - announced a major reorganisation in January 1999.