With effect from 1 May 2007, restrictions on the Dutch labour market were lifted completely for workers from the new EU Member States (NMS) in line with the European Commission’s recommendations on the free movement of workers [1] by 2009 (*NL0605039I* [2]). In practical terms, opening the borders
The simplified Working Hours Act, which came into effect from 1 April 2007, contains fewer rules in relation to the regulation of working hours. Just four rules remain, in contrast to the previous 12 rules. These four rules provide for restrictions in relation to the maximum number of working hours
A series of ‘relay strikes’ have been taking place at various government departments for many months now (*NL0701069I* [1]). At the end of April 2007, the trade unions representing public sector workers reached agreement with the new Minister of Internal Affairs, Ms Guusje ter Horst. On the trade
The initial results of a controversial trial involving anonymous job applications in the municipality of Nijmegen, situated in the east of the Netherlands close to the German border, have proven favourable for people of foreign extraction (NL0611019I [1]). It seems that foreign applicants stand a
The three largest trade union federations have proposed their points of interest for the upcoming participation dialogue with the Dutch cabinet. The trade unions involved are the Dutch Trade Union Federation (Federatie Nederlandse Vakbeweging, FNV [1]), the Christian Trade Union Federation
At the start of April 2007, TNT Post [1] announced a new internal reorganisation. Within the next two and a half years, the largest private employer in the Netherlands – with an overall workforce of more than 50,000 employees – intends to cut between 6,500 and 7,000 jobs. The initiative aims at
Following the outsourcing of mail and document processing by the ING bank in February 2007, the DockING staff association at the bank appealed to the courts, declaring that the new company, Astron, does not offer the same terms and conditions of employment as the bank. The association represents
In late February 2007, towage workers at Smit Internationale came out on strike, demanding an 8% wage increase. The ultimatum deadline issued to Smit by the trade unions passed without the parties having reached agreement; Smit’s management board did not concede to the demands for a new collective
The new three-party coalition government presented its coalition agreement at the beginning of February 2007. For the fourth consecutive term, the coalition includes the Christian Democratic Alliance (Christen Democratisch Appèl, CDA [1]). Both the Labour Party (Partij van de Arbeid, PvdA [2]) and
In January 2007, government officials took industrial action aimed at achieving a better collective agreement than that being offered by the Minister of Internal Affairs, Johan Remkes. This issue concerns 120,000 government officials who work at the tax authorities, prison services and ministries