Minister open to idea of national holiday for slavery commemoration

Minister Hanke Bruins Slot (Home Affairs) is open to the idea of making July 1 a public holiday on which the Netherlands' history of slavery is commemorated, and its abolition is celebrated. She asked the commemoration committee that handles these matters to investigate the option, though she stressed that she could not make a decision about it herself.

According to the Minister, whether July 1 should become a day off should be decided in the collective labor agreements after advice from the Labor Foundation. The Minster has asked the commemoration committee to enter into discussion with the employers’ and employees’ organizations.

The Tweede Kamer, the lower house of the Dutch parliament, has long wanted to declare July 1 a national holiday. In 2021, a motion by Salima Belhaj (D66) received the support of a parliamentary majority. A petition calling for this was also signed over 60,000 times.

The originally Surinamese holiday Keti Koti is celebrated on July 1 because, on that day in 1863, the Netherlands ended slavery by law. The actual end to enslavement happened ten years later.

The national government is also a major employer. It is working on an experiment to allow civil servants to take time off for public holidays that are not laid down in law. Bruins Slot wants to ensure that the officials participating in the experiment will also be allowed to take time off for Keti Koti. She also asked the commemoration committee to consider a possible flag instruction.