Cabinet decides against raising minimum youth wage despite parliament majority

The cabinet does not want to raise the minimum youth wage in July 2026, as requested in a motion submitted by Volt and approved by parliament. Caretaker Minister Mona Keijzer is temporarily overseeing the Ministry of Social Affairs and stated in responses to parliamentary questions that she is not implementing the motion due to funding issues.

The proposal draws on reserve funds and expects slightly higher revenues and/or lower costs than previously estimated, making the required 29 million euros available. According to Keijzer, however, this comes at the expense of “funds that were reserved for groups in difficulty.”

Volt leader Laurens Dassen called the minister’s stance “unacceptable” in a post on the social media platform BlueSky. “The money is there, and so is the parliamentary majority.” His party stated that the intended funding will not come at the expense of social development companies, as Keijzer suggests.

The motion calls for the wage increase to be implemented in July 2026. Keijzer considers this too soon for a “careful legislative process” and therefore sticks to the cabinet’s proposal to implement a small increase in January 2027.

According to Volt, the minister’s arguments do not hold up. “The start date of January 1, 2026, has been reviewed by legislative experts, including those from parliament itself. They all make it perfectly clear: January 1, 2026, is entirely feasible,” the party said.