At their June 2007 summit, the Dutch cabinet and the social partners decided to establish a taskforce to raise the level of labour market participation, particularly among women and older people (*NL0704059I* [1], *NL0707069I* [2]). In the autumn of 2007, the Central Bureau of Statistics (Centraal
The opening of borders on 1 May 2007 to employees from new EU Member States (NMS) appears not to have discouraged some employers in the Netherlands from hiring workers illegally. For employers, financial motives remain the most important reason for taking on illegal employees. Therefore, it remains
In August 2007, the Minister of Social Affairs and Employment, Piet Hein Donner, announced his plan to introduce a public pregnancy and maternity leave scheme for self-employed individuals. The women involved will each be awarded the right to 16 weeks of benefits, depending on their earnings. The
The main points in the Netherlands’ state budget agreement published in September 2007 concern the reduction of the financial burdens of minimum-wage earners and elderly people whose only source of income derives from the General Old-Age Pensions Act (/Algemene Ouderdomswet/, AOW). Another proposal
Some 24% of all disabled employees find work within eight months of being re-examined under the Occupational Disability Insurance Act (/Wet op de arbeidsongeschiktheidsverzekering/, WAO). This finding is revealed in a study (in Dutch, 552Kb PDF) [1] published in April 2007 by the AStri Research and
In its recommendation on labour migration policy (181Kb PDF) [1] issued in March 2007, the Social and Economic Council (Sociaal-Economische Raad, SER [2]) called for the relaxation of the entry restrictions on highly qualified workers from countries outside the European Union. The council is urging
In the summer of 2007, the Christian Trade Union Federation (Christelijk Nationaal Vakverbond, CNV [1]) opened its ranks to self-employed workers. In so doing, CNV is following the Dutch Trade Union Federation (Federatie Nederlandse Vakbeweging, FNV [2]), which already opened membership to self
In June 2007, the Minister of Social Affairs and Employment, Piet-Hein Donner, signed an agreement with the social partners and municipalities following a summit on labour market participation. The plan focuses on one of the trade unions’ main demands – increasing labour market participation (
In the spring of 2007, the Dutch Trade Union Federation (Federatie Nederlandse Vakbeweging, FNV [1]) anticipated a further collective wage increase. The Central Planning Office (Centraal Planbureau, CPB [2]) subsequently predicted a collective wage growth of 3.25%. At that time, the General
The Christian Trade Union Federation (Christelijk Nationaal Vakverbond, CNV [1]) has proposed offering non-standard or flexible workers the option of more training. Studies commissioned by CNV show that half a million employees work on the basis of a temporary contract. This includes workers on