Netherlands
Background information on industrial relations in Netherlands
- 18 Dec 2002
Netherlands: Wage moderation and low productivity under debate<#PDF_LINK>After several years of prosperity, the Dutch economy seems to have run into difficulties in late 2002, falling behind the rest of the EU in indicators such as growth. To address the problems, there have been calls to revert to the familiar recipe of wage moderation but, increasingly, the focus appears to be on the lagging labour productivity and innovative power of the Dutch economy.
- 09 Dec 2002
Netherlands: Social partners and government reach 'social agreement' for 2003<#PDF_LINK>In November 2002, the Dutch government and social partners reached asocial agreementfor 2003, including a pay increase limit of 2.5% - the first such centrally agreed wage ceiling for a decade. Under the agreement, the government has released a sum of EUR 1 billion to meet the social partners' demands, including cuts in tax and social security contributions.
- 26 Nov 2002
Netherlands: Wage gaps for women and foreign nationals narrowing but persistent<#PDF_LINK>According to research published in autumn 2002, despite some narrowing of the gap between 1998 and 2000, the wages of women and foreign nationals in the Netherlands still lag behind those of male Dutch nationals. The average wage gap between women and men was 15% in 2000, compared with 18% in 1998. Around a third of the gender wage gap remains after factors such as education and experience have been discounted, while researchers highlight labour market segregation intomaleandfemalesectors. On average, foreign nationals from outside western Europe receive far lower wages than other workers, but experience a narrower gender wage gap.
- 21 Nov 2002
Netherlands: Debate over viability of collective bargaining system<#PDF_LINK>In 2002, the basic legislative framework for collective bargaining is 75 years' old, and the relevant laws have changed little over this period. However, certain provisions of the legislation - notably on extending collective agreements to non-signatory employer, and on applying agreements to non-union employees - are increasing under debate.
- 05 Nov 2002
Netherlands: Government's collapse leaves many controversial issues unresolved<#PDF_LINK>The Netherlands' three-party centre-right coalition government collapsed after only a few months in October 2002, following conflict within one of its member parties, the right-wing populist List Pim Fortuyn (LPF ). Until new elections are held in January 2003, no further decisions may be taken on controversial issues, leaving a number of the outgoing government's employment-related proposals unresolved.
- 28 Oct 2002
Netherlands: KLM and unions agree on test case trial for wildcat strikers<#PDF_LINK>In July 2002, ground engineers at KLM, the Dutch airline, took wildcat strike action in support of a pay claim, leading the company to threaten legal action against them for damages. In October, KLM agreed with three trade unions (FNV, CNV and De Unie) that a test case on such individual liability for damages, involving four of the strikers, should be taken to court. However, the Dutch Association of Ground Engineers (NVLT) has rejected this agreement.
- 28 Oct 2002
Netherlands: Supervisory body for occupational pension funds issues more stringent rules<#PDF_LINK>Falling share prices have recently resulted in serious losses for Dutch occupational pension funds, placing pensions cover in jeopardy. Additionally, pension funds appear to have been used by many companies during the recent years of economic prosperity not solely for the purposes of paying out pensions. Pensioners fear that this has placed future payments from the funds in question and threatened indexation of pensions. Former employees of various companies have thus instituted legal proceedings against their former employers. In September 2002, the supervisory body for pension funds, the PVK, joined the ranks of the critics and issued stringent new rules governing fund administration.
- 24 Sep 2002
Netherlands: Latest developments in strikes<#PDF_LINK>The limited number of strikes in the Netherlands goes hand in hand with a relatively high number of court cases, as indicated by this feature, which examines statistics on strikes in 2001 and relevant case law in 2001 and the first half of 2002. In August 2002, the Council of Europe criticised the high level of court intervention in strikes in the Netherlands.
- 11 Sep 2002
Netherlands: Controversial ruling on dismissals<#PDF_LINK>In August 2002, a Dutch court made a controversial ruling, in interim injunction proceedings brought by trade unions, allowing more lenient dismissal rules which apply to temporary employment agencies to be applied by an information and communications technology (ICT) company, CMG, which seconds workers to other firms.
- 20 Aug 2002
Netherlands: Job creation project for foreign nationals in SMEs achieves limited success<#PDF_LINK>A Dutch scheme to create jobs for migrant workers in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) completed its second year of operation in 2002. The initiative has achieved its targets - one of the few schemes to increase labour market participation among foreign nationals to do so - and the employers and employees concerned appear satisfied with the results. However, a study published in June 2002 found that the results achieved are in fact less notable. It appears that economic upturn of recent years had a far greater impact on reducing unemployment among migrant workers.
- 07 Aug 2002
Netherlands: No support for coalition agreement among social partners<#PDF_LINK>Both trade unions and employers' organisations have reacted negatively to the coalition agreement reached by the new three-party centre-right government formed in June 2002. The most controversial points of the government's plans relate to reform of WAO disability benefits and private pensions, abolition of subsidised employment schemes, and cutbacks in public employment and severance pay.
- 07 Aug 2002
Netherlands: Employees oppose new government's cutbacks in refugee agencies<#PDF_LINK>The new Dutch centre-right government which came to office in June 2002 plans to cut the fixed budget for the Central Body for Asylum Seekers (COA) and the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) by 90% over the next four years. The rationale is that the budget should match the volume of refugees and asylum seekers dealt with and cannot be determined in advance. The works councils representing staff at the COA and IND reject these proposals and many staff stopped work on 23 July to take part in a protest meeting organised by trade unions.
- 11 Jul 2002
Netherlands: First strike held in ICT sector<#PDF_LINK>June 2002 saw the first strike to be held in the Dutch information and communications technology (ICT) sector, when employees at Getronics held a one-day strike over a pay dispute. The current wave of restructuring and redundancies in the sector has also prompted unrest among employees in other ICT companies.
- 04 Jul 2002
Netherlands: Subsidised employment under fire<#PDF_LINK>As negotiations over the formation of a new right-wing coalition government proceed in May-June 2002, it seems likely that the new Dutch administration will radically restructure the current system of subsidised employment for groups such as long-term unemployed people and people with disabilities. There is a widespread consensus on the need for change in this area, with some favouring modernisation of the system and others its abolition.
- 04 Jul 2002
Netherlands: Unions face financial problems as representativeness issue resurfaces<#PDF_LINK>In 2001, overall trade union membership in the Netherlands fell slightly, despite attempts to attract new members, prompting questions again to be raised about their representativeness. At the same time, financial problems are besetting some unions, notably FNV Bondgenoten, the largest union in the private sector, while the FNV confederation's invested capital has shrunk and questions have been asked about the ethicality of its investments. One new way of attracting members, proposed by the FNV chair in May 2002, is for unions to seek to represent the inerests of illegal workers.
- 27 Jun 2002
Netherlands: Social partner involvement in the 2002 NAP<#PDF_LINK>This feature examines social partner involvement in the Netherlands' 2002 National Action Plan (NAP) for employment. It is one of a set of similar features for all the EU Member States, written in response to a questionnaire
- 11 Jun 2002
Netherlands: General election result challenges relations between social partners<#PDF_LINK>In the Dutch general election held in May 2002, the ruling coalition of social democratic and liberal parties suffered a major defeat at the hands of the christian democratic CDA and the populist LPF, which are now forming a centre-right coalition government. The result has implications for relationships between the social partners. The likely new coalition has a sympathetic audience among employers' associations, while trade unions fear that cooperation between the social partners will be swept aside.
- 08 May 2002
Netherlands: Government falls as union demands resignation of army leaders<#PDF_LINK>In April 2002, the Dutch government resigned after the publication of research into the events around the fall of the Bosnian enclave of Srebrenica, which was under the protection of Dutch peacekeepers, in 1995. Trade unions representing military personnel have called for the resignation of the army leadership at the time and for a parliamentary inquiry, which has now been launched.
- 30 Apr 2002
Netherlands: Pay moderation key issue in difficult bargaining round<#PDF_LINK>The spring 2002 collective bargaining round in the Netherlands has proved difficult, with industrial action in sectors such as construction and public transport. Despite calls for pay moderation, agreed wage increases were generally just under 4% (above predicted inflation) until a markedly lower rise was agreed, following a major strike, at Philips in April. The Philips deal may set the pattern for subsequent bargaining in export-oriented manufacturing, but there are still fears of a wage-price spiral.
- 24 Apr 2002
Netherlands: Company law changes have implications for employee representatives<#PDF_LINK>A number of legislative proposals issued in 2001 and 2002 aim to strengthen the position of the general meeting of shareholders in Dutch companies in relation to company management and, in some cases, even the supervisory board. At the same time, the powers of employee representatives will remain largely unchanged. These changes may bring about a shift in the balance of power within large companies in favour of shareholders.
- 19 Apr 2002
Netherlands: 2001 Annual Review for the Netherlands<#PDF_LINK>This record reviews 2001's main developments in industrial relations in the Netherlands.
- 15 Apr 2002
Netherlands: SER opinion on WAO disability benefit conditionally supported by social partners<#PDF_LINK>In March 2002, the Netherlands' tripartite Social and Economic Council (SER) issued its opinion on the reform of the Occupational Disability Insurance Act (WAO), which will be used by the government as the basis for legislative proposals. Although employers and trade unions are generally in agreement, they have some reservations.
- 03 Apr 2002
Netherlands: Problems emerge as works councils' role expands<#PDF_LINK>In broad terms, works councils have become a generally accepted phenomenon in the Netherlands, and their role has expanded considerably over the years. At the same time, however, mounting problems have arisen, relating to issues such as a lack of interest in works councils among employees and the ability of individual works council members to perform their duties, which affects the performance of the works council as a whole. This raises the question of whether works councils are sufficiently capable of fulfilling their function as acountervailing power. We review the evidence as of early 2002.
- 17 Mar 2002
Netherlands: Agreement follows strikes and mediation in childcare<#PDF_LINK>Following a series of one-day strikes, a new collective agreement for the Dutch childcare sector was concluded through a process of mediation in January 2002. This brought an end to a dispute which had seen a split among the trade unions and an unsuccessful effort by employers to prevent industrial action through recourse to the courts.
- 17 Mar 2002
Netherlands: New legislation enhances employment rights<#PDF_LINK>2001 saw a raft of new legislative measures in the Netherlands, aimed at improving employees' protection and rights. These included: new rights for fixed-term contract workers; a right to refuse Sunday working; new entitlements to leave for care purposes; and measures to combat discrimination on grounds of disability and age.
- 13 Mar 2002
Netherlands: Variable pay under debate<#PDF_LINK>Variable pay schemes were in the news in the Netherlands in February 2002. Employers' representatives contested research findings published by KPMG Consulting, questioning the value of performance-related pay. Meanwhile, at Philips, management and the central works council are in dispute over the company's share-option scheme for managers.
- 31 Jan 2002
Netherlands: SER reaches agreement on disability benefits<#PDF_LINK>In January 2002, the Netherlands' tripartite Social and Economic Council reached an agreement on the problematic issue of employees who are unable to work on account of illness of disability. The aim is to decrease dramatically the number of employees receiving WAO disability benefit. The agreement coincides with a fundamental debate that has arisen on the pros and cons of the Dutch polder modelof consultation and consensus.
- 21 Jan 2002
Netherlands: Dutch Railways board and managers resign<#PDF_LINK>January 2002 saw the resignation of the supervisory board and part of the management team (including the chief executive) at Dutch Railways (NS). The ostensible reason was a failure to achieve an agreed punctuality target, but the underlying factors included persistent poor relations with staff - NS experienced major industrial conflict in 2001 - and a tense relationship between the board and the Minister of Transport.