van het Kaar, Robbert

In late October 2001, the Dutch telecommunications group, KPN , announced plans to make 4,800 employees redundant. Following negotiations with trade unions, in November the number of compulsory redundancies was cut to 2,800, with 2,000 older employees to depart voluntarily. In return for the reduction in the number of redundancies, KPN staff have accepted pay cuts.

In November 2001, in the course of the customary 'autumn consultation' between Dutch employers, trade unions and government, the union federations announced their intention to adopt a moderate approach during forthcoming collective bargaining. They are also prepared to accept more sector-specific wage increases.

Several weeks after the attacks on the USA on 11 September 2001, Willem Vermeend, the Dutch Minister for Social Affairs and Employment, invited the social partners to a meeting. The minister elaborated on several scenarios in order to clarify the potential consequences of the events for the Dutch economy, based on a number of fundamental economic variables. The most important conclusion drawn by the minister was that the need for wage moderation is now even more urgent than ever (NL0107137F [1]). [1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/undefined/controversy-over-wage-moderation

Debate on the allocation of the surplus reserves of occupational pension funds (NL9812111F [1] and NL9808194F [2]) has continued to rage in 2000 and 2001. It is estimated that approximately NLG 1.5 billion was funnelled back from their pension funds to a number of large companies in 1999. The pension fund at the Hagemeyer electrical materials concern provides a good example. Over a period of three years, NLG 175 million has been transferred from the occupational pension fund surplus to the company. At the same time, pensioners received payments totalling NLG 20 million and NLG 5 million was earmarked to adjust the pension scheme. [1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/undefined/pension-schemes-and-costs-increasingly-affect-industrial-relations [2] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/industrial-relations-undefined/pensions-and-pension-funds-become-major-issue-in-dutch-industrial-relations

In July 2000, two Dutch political parties proposed new legislation to grant individual employees a greater say over their own working hours. The proposal garnered support from the trade unions and the majority in the Lower House of parliament, but ran into opposition from employers' associations.

In its draft memorandum on employment conditions for 2001, issued in July 2000, the Netherlands' FNV trade union confederation is seeking share-option schemes for all employees. Reactions to the proposal have been largely positive.

In June 2000, the Dutch cabinet announced that it will introduce legislation to oblige companies listed on the stock exchange to reveal the salaries of individual managers.

At the close of 1999, the sector-wide collective agreement for the Dutch banking sector ended. By the end of June 2000, all major banks except ING had reached company agreements.

The Netherlands' first major collective agreement of 2000 was reached at Akzo Nobel in February. Elsewhere, agreement on new settlements for the education sector and provincial government appears unlikely in the near future.

Although GDP growth continued to be relatively robust in 1999, it decreased slightly to 3.5%, compared with 3.7% in 1998 and 3.8% in 1997 (which was the highest level since 1990). The budget showed a surplus of 0.25% of GDP in 1999, compared with deficits of 1.75% in 1998 and 2.5% in 1997. Public debt as a proportion of GDP stood at 70.0% in 1998, down from 72.6% in 1997 (the figures had previously run at over 77% throughout the 1990s). Inflation rose slightly over 1999, to 2.2%, compared with 2.0% in 1998 and 2.2% in 1997 (throughout the 1990s, inflation ran at around 2%-3%)