Raise minimum wage to €16 per hour to fight poverty, trade union says

Trade union FNV wants the Netherlands to raise the minimum wage to 16 euros per hour to fight poverty. The rent and healthcare benefits should also increase, as well as the child-related budget allowance. “Without extra measures, one million people in our country will live in poverty from next year. That is unacceptable and must not be allowed,” said FNV chairman Tuur Elzinga.

The union is responding to the most recent report by the Central Planning Office (CPB). It calculated that poverty in the Netherlands would increase considerably if the Cabinet did not take measures on Budget Day to help struggling households pay their bills. Looking at the entire population, purchasing power will increase slightly next year.

FNV urged the government to take measures, like increasing the minimum wage and the benefits that help struggling households with their fixed expenses. “Not taking any measures is also a political choice: a choice in favor of poverty and a choice not to comply with your constitutional task,” Elzinga said. According to him, several countries, including Iceland, are already working on a minimum hourly wage of 16 euros per month.

The plea is striking because FNV has long fought to get the minimum wage to 14 euros per hour. It’s now pushing for even more. According to the union, 14 euros per hour is no longer sufficient to guarantee social security for many people.

The trade union also addressed its appeal to the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of the Dutch parliament. “The Cabinet is outgoing, but the Tweede Kamer is not. It has instructed Rutte and his people in a motion to prevent poverty from increasing due to the fall of the Cabinet,” Elzinga said. “The Senate has passed a motion to halve child poverty by 2025. Structural measures are desperately needed for this. And quickly too.”

Statistics Netherlands reported on Wednesday that the Netherlands had entered a slight recession after two consecutive quarters of economic contraction. At the time, the trade unions FNV and CNV said they would stick to their previously set wage demands. For CNV, that is a 10 percent increase. “There is no reason to adjust it now that the economy is performing a little less,” said CNV vice-chairman Patrick Fey on Wednesday.