Unions and opposition parties present joint plan to alleviate poverty

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In December 1998, the two largest Dutch trade union organisations and the two major opposition parties published a joint plan aimed at alleviating poverty in the Netherlands, thus putting considerable pressure on the coalition government. The Lower House of parliament subsequently accepted two of the plan's proposals in the course of negotiations on the social affairs budget.

In a historic development, on 4 December 1998 the Dutch Trade Union Federation (Federatie Nederlandse Vakbeweging, FNV) and the Christian Trade Union Federation (Christelijk Nationaal Vakverbond, CNV) teamed up with the Christian Democrat (Christen Democratisch Appèl, CDA) and Green-Left (GroenLinks) political parties to present a joint plan aimed at combating poverty in the Netherlands. The two largest Dutch union organisations and the two major opposition parties thus placed the coalition government, and in particular the Labour Party (Partij van de Arbeid, PvdA) under considerable pressure. The PvdA Minister of Social Affairs, Klaas de Vries, had been scheduled to present his budget to the Lower House the following week.

The opposition plan includes six proposals:

• minimum income households with children would receive an extra NLG 600 annually;

• households that have been living on a minimum income for five years or more would be eligible for the same amount;

• young people with disabilities living on minimum benefits would receive an extra NLG 500 annually;

• local councils would be permitted to exempt those with an income of not more than 110% of the social minimum from having to pay local taxes;

• income tax on bonuses for voluntary work carried out by those entitled to government benefits would be abolished; and

• housing rental expenses for minimum income groups should not exceed 15% of their income.

CDA and GroenLinks are seeking to fund the plan, which is expected to cost NLG 350 million, from the budget for alleviating financial burdens, scheduled to take effect in 2001. In the meantime, the plan would be funded from government reserves and financial windfalls.

The plan does not include any proposals for a structural rise in benefits or minimum wages, due to a lack of consensus on these matters between the unions and the opposition parties. During the debate on the social affairs budget held in the Lower House of the Dutch parliament on 10 December, left-wing parties focused their attention on the desirability of structural increases. A last-minute plan proposed by the PvdA itself contained measures that were even less far-reaching than those suggested by the opposition. The Lower House eventually adopted two elements from the opposition plan: an extra NLG 50 million will be made available to those living on minimum benefits for the purchase of durables and necessary goods such as washing machines or glasses; and Minister De Vries has also agreed to meet the needs of young disabled people, also using the exceptional benefit funds.