Strikes are coming: Trade unions after meeting with gov't on social assistance cuts
The Dutch trade unions will push forward with planned strikes because the government has not completely scrapped planned cuts to the WIA disability benefit and the WW unemployment benefit, the union chairpersons said after meeting with the Cabinet at the Catshuis in The Hague.“The cuts to unemployment benefits and disability benefits must be taken off the table. The Cabinet’s response is insufficient. Actions are coming,” CNV chairman Hans van de Heuvel said when leaving the meeting.
“As unions, we have jointly decided to no longer talk to the Cabinet. These plans must be taken off the table first, because the plans are unnecessary, unfair, and irresponsible,” trade unions FNV, CNV, and VCP said on their websites.
The Jetten I Cabinet had planned to save billions of euros through cuts to the disability, unemployment, and pension benefits. According to the government, these reforms are needed to keep public finances healthy, resolve implementation problems, and get the labor market moving. But the trade unions have opposed the cuts from the start.
Minister Hans Vijlbrief of Social Affairs and Employment has since scrapped plans to accelerate the increase in state pension age, and agreed to abandon key elements of reforms to the WIA and WW benefits. The unions still felt that the government was cutting too much from social assistance, so Prime Minister Rob Jetten invited them to discuss with the Cabinet at the Catshuis, his official residence in The Hague, on Thursday.
Walking out of the meeting, CNV chairman Hans van den Heuvel told RTL Nieuws that the conversation with the Cabinet was “more constructive than expected,” but it was still insufficient. FNV chairman Hans Spekman agreed. “Because those cuts are not off the table, we still have the same problem. The talks are being ended for now.”
The trade unions previously gave the Cabinet an ultimatum expiring on May 30. Planned labor actions include a public transport strike that will affect all trains, buses, trams, and metros on June 24.
