3 in 10 people are short of money every month: FNV

Many people have no money left over at the end of the month, partly due to the costs of groceries, petrol and energy, among other things. Three out of 10 people are even short of money, according to the FNV trade union, based on its own survey among nearly 20,000 members.

The survey included workers, people on benefits and retirees. According to FNV, 42 percent of them are afraid of debt. As a cost-cutting measure, 65 percent of people are turning the heating down or off. A majority also say they save on daily shopping in the supermarket. Some do not buy clothes anymore and some have canceled subscriptions. Six percent also say they skip a meal.

"The figures from our study are a lot more alarming than the income effects estimated by the CPB, especially for people with lower to moderate incomes," said vice president Zakaria Boufangacha, who wants wages to be compensated for price increases. He also calls the 800 euro energy surcharge that the Cabinet has promised to people with a low income "a drop in the ocean."

According to Boufangacha, the main solution to the problem is that wages will rise. "Unfortunately, we see that wages have been lagging behind economic growth and thus corporate profits for years," said the vice president. "A majority rightly says they want more wages. And the results also underline once again that the minimum wage and benefits are really too low. They go up much too late and far too little."

The trade union CNV is also concerned about the gel and costs. On Friday, it pleaded for the Cabinet to do "everything" to maintain Dutch purchasing power after the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) reported that inflation had risen to almost 12 percent last month.