Actors and institutions in Netherlands

Until 1980, the government played a major role in the Dutch industrial relations system, especially with regard to wage-setting. The picture has changed since then, and in 2018 the social partners indicated that the Minister for Social Affairs and Employment was making special efforts to include them.

The government of the Netherlands has a relatively well-developed system for consulting the social partners. Consultations regularly take place in the SER. Successive cabinets have frequently established social pacts, usually through the bipartite STVDA.

In addition, the Netherlands has a highly developed approach to sectoral social dialogue. As a matter of national culture, sectoral trade unions and employer organisations come together to establish collective labour agreements to regulate and set out rules on working life for the sectors in question. These agreements build on the national laws on working conditions but also consider the economic realities of given sectors when considering sectoral social policy issues.

The main actors are the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment; the Netherlands Labour Authority (Nederlandse Arbeidsinspectie) (formerly Inspectorate SZW), which is also responsible for monitoring health and safety; the SER; and the social security agency (the Employee Insurance Agency (Uitvoeringsinstituut Werknemersverzekeringen, UWV)), which is responsible for benefits and the reintegration of unemployed and disabled workers. Furthermore, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy (Ministerie van Economische Zaken en Klimaat) is a key player in working life policy, as it is involved in policymaking for specific sectors. Sectoral realities must also be included in policymaking, and therefore the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment also participate in regular tripartite meetings with the social partners.

The Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment is responsible for the bulk of labour-related legislation, monitoring of collective agreements, social dialogue and labour-related inspection activities, including the inspection of working conditions.

Actual inspection is carried out by the Netherlands Labour Authority, which covers not only working conditions but also social fraud, minimum wages and illegal labour.

There is no specific labour court, and conflicts are resolved through the general judicial system. There is no specific mediation board for labour-related issues, with one exception: ‘company committees’ (bedrijfscommissies) can mediate in conflicts between employers and works councils, on a voluntary basis.

Since 1945, the representation of the social partners at national level has been very stable, with three union and three employer federations being members of the tripartite SER and the bipartite STVDA. The legal basis of their representation (more general representativeness) is limited to a 1980 decree on membership of the SER. This decree only establishes very broad rules on representativeness. There are few legal conflicts on the issue of representativeness. However, the decline in union density has resulted in debates on the role of unions in the collective bargaining system (including the issue of the extension of collective agreements), and on the representativeness and status of the SER (and to a lesser extent the STVDA). This undermines the legitimacy and representativeness of the collective labour agreements that are concluded. It has also sparked a small but growing trend of small trade unions springing up to represent younger workers, professionals and solo-self-employed, part-time and freelance workers.

About trade union representation

In the Netherlands, there are no restrictions on union membership in legislation. Union density is gradually declining, and was just below 13% in 2021, down from around 40% 30 years ago. The decrease from 2011 to 2021 was steady but slow.

The landscape has been more or less stable in recent decades, apart from the establishment in 2017 of a new trade union in the primary education sector, PO in Actie. This trade union started as a Facebook group and within a short space of time was supported by 45,000 teachers. There have been other instances of new trade unions establishing themselves to cover workers not traditionally considered able to be part of a trade union. The Alternative Trade Union (Alternative voor Vakbond, AVV), for instance, is not seen as a traditional union, as it also represents entrepreneurs.

An important characteristic of the Dutch collective bargaining system is the fact that collective bargaining coverage is much higher (around 73%) than trade union density (under 15%). The main reason is not so much the extension of collective agreements (this adds only seven percentage points to collective bargaining coverage), but the duty of employers that are parties to a collective agreement to treat organised and non-organised employees equally. This creates the well-known ‘free-rider’ problem for unions: unorganised employees reap the same benefits of union activities as organised employees.

One problem for the unions is the increase in the average age of their members. The average age is gradually increasing, and in the long run this will lead to lower density (i.e. as the oldest employees retire). Furthermore, the rise of the flexible labour force – usually a group with a low trade union membership rate – poses a threat to the legitimacy and representativeness of the collective labour agreements reached.

New unions such as PO in Actie and the AVV show that trade union membership can be boosted by implementing a more open and inclusive approach to membership and having direct communication with members to determine their needs, including through the use of social media.

Trade union membership and trade union density, 2011–2021

Notes: * Proportion of employees who are members of a trade union. ** Preliminary data. *** The previous data were incorrect according to our source. This row provides the correct data. **** Trade union membership of employees was derived for the total union membership and adjusted, if necessary, for trade union members outside the active, dependent and employed labour force (i.e. retired workers, self-employed workers, students, unemployed people). n.a., not available.

Sources: CBS StatLine, 2021; CBS StatLine, 2022a; OECD and AIAS, 2021.

Main trade union confederations and federations

There are three main national cross-sectoral trade unions that negotiate and consult on policy related to employment and the labour market. These are the Netherlands Trade Union Confederation (Federatie Nederlandse Vakbeweging, FNV), the National Federation of Christian Trade Unions (Christelijk Nationaal Vakverbond, CNV) and the Trade Union Federation for Professionals (Vakcentrale voor professionals, VCP). These are the largest trade unions in the Netherlands, and they negotiate with the government through the SER and the STVDA. The main development in recent years was the internal restructuring process of the largest federation, the FNV. The present structure is one federation, divided into 28 branches. The CNV is also made up of a series of sectoral branches. Furthermore, some trade unions (the Dutch Association for the Elderly (Algemene Nederlandse Bond voor Ouderen_._ ANBO), the General Independent Union (De Unie) and the Federation of Independent Trade Unions (Unie van Onafhankelijke Vakorganisaties, UOV)) have joined the VCP.

There have been no major changes in the main trade unions in the Netherlands. There is, however, a trend of deunionisation, as is the case in other European countries. This seems to have given rise to a small but visible trend where new unions are appearing that attract younger, more diverse members, such as AVV and De Unie, whose membership includes entrepreneurs, flexible workers and part-time workers.

Main trade union confederations and federations

Note: * Preliminary data.

Source: CBS StatLine, 2021.

About employer representation

Every employer, or branch organisation, can become a member of an employer organisation. There are no specific rights or obligations deriving from legislation. Of course, there may be some rights and obligations deriving from the articles of association of the employer organisation, setting out rights and obligations for members.

There have been no important developments on the employers’ side in recent years.

Unlike for unions, Statistics Netherlands does not publish figures on employer organisation density. However, it is estimated to be 80–90%, not having changed significantly since 2012. Furthermore, there do not appear to have been any stand-alone analyses of employer organisation membership in recent years.

Employer organisation membership and density, 2012–2020 (%)

Notes: * Percentage of employees working in an establishment that is a member of any employer organisation that is involved in collective bargaining. n.a., not available.

Main employer organisations

The main employer organisations are the Confederation of Netherlands Industry and Employers (Vereniging Nederlandse Ondernemers-Nederlands Christelijk Werkgeversverbond, VNO-NCW), the Royal Association MKB-Nederland (Koninklijke Vereniging MKB-Nederland, MKB-Nederland) (representing small and medium-sized enterprises) and the Netherlands Agricultural and Horticultural Association (Land en Tuinbouworganisatie Nederland, LTO Nederland) (representing employers in the agricultural sector). These three federations are also the ones represented in the tripartite SER and the bipartite STVDA. The VNO-NCW and MKB-Nederland collaborate, and often work together as one organisation.

Main employer organisations and confederations

Sources: VNO-NCW, 2021; MKB-Nederland, 2021; LTO Nederland, 2021,

The most important tripartite body is the SER, consisting of one-third employee representatives (from the three main union confederations), one-third employer representatives (from the three main employer confederations) and one-third independent members, appointed by the government. The SER is the main advisory body for the government on all major socioeconomic issues. Consultations take the form of requests for advice from the government. The consultations of the SER are unanimous, reflecting consensus on the side of the social partners. Several outcomes of consultations have formed the basis of labour legislation. Important examples are the consultations on flexicurity (1996) and working time (2007). In 2017, negotiations between the social partners on various levels came to a standstill on three issues: reducing the gap between the rights of permanent and flexible workers (in particular, dismissal rights), reforming the pension system and changing the system for paying the wages of employees in the second year of sickness (collective or individual, depending on the employer). Mention should also be made of the bipartite STVDA, which has an equal number of members from the main social partner federations. On several occasions, the STVDA and the government have negotiated ‘social pacts’, which may form the basis of labour legislation. The most recent example is the 2013 social pact, which resulted in new legislation on dismissals and on flexible contracts, entering into force on 1 July 2015. The STVDA, along with the SER and its members, were also involved in the development of the new pension accord in 2019.

Main tripartite and bipartite bodies

The main form of employee representation in Dutch enterprises is the works council (ondernemingsraad). This is a body, made up solely of employee representatives, that must be set up in enterprises with more than 50 employees and has extensive information and consultation rights and some decision-making powers. In enterprises with between 10 and 50 employees, a personnel delegation (personeelsvertegenwoordiging) with less extensive information and consultation rights may be set up voluntarily by the employer and must be set up at the request of a majority of the workforce. These bodies represent workers in a company regarding internal, enterprise-specific activities and policies being considered by the management levels within an organisation.

In enterprises with 10 to 50 employees, in the absence of either body, the employer must hold a twice-yearly meeting of employees, at which any employee may express their opinion, where the employer must present the company accounts, provide information on the general situation of the company and on employment policy, and consult employees about decisions that may lead to job losses or to a major change in the work of at least a quarter of the workforce.

Trade union presence at workplace level is relatively rare and exists mainly in sectors that traditionally have strong unionisation (such as the metal sector and the ports sector). Worker representatives within an enterprise do not usually engage in social dialogue or collective labour negotiations, although there are, of course, exceptions across sectors.

Regulation, composition and competences of the bodies

Note: n.a., not available.

Source: Law on Workers Councils.