Make Liberation Day a work holiday say most Dutch people

Dutch people increasingly believe that an official day off from work should be granted on May 5th, the anniversary of the 1945 liberation of the Netherlands in World War II. Roughly 70 percent of those surveyed by the National Committee 4 and 5 May want Liberation Day to be a day off for all Netherlands employees.

This is an increase from 2016 figures, when 60 percent of respondents wanted the day off. If this were to be realized but in exchange for another holiday, about 30 percent of Dutch people would choose to substitute it for Good Friday.

Liberation Day was already labeled a national holiday in 1990, but is only designated a day off for most working persons every five years. However, hundred of thousands of civil servants and people working in education often already have the day off based on their collective bargaining agreements.

At the moment there are no statistics on the economic implications of extending this liberty to the rest of the country would have. The growth in support for the day off is in line with data compiled by the committee in recent years. The Committee administers investigations on the support for May 4th and 5th commemorations annually. They surveyed just shy of 900 people for their 2017 report.