Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2005, published 95th ILC session (2006)

1. The Committee notes the information contained in the Government’s report for the period ending in June 2004, as well as the National Action Plan for Employment 2003, attached. The Committee also notes the comments included in the Government’s report formulated by the National Federation of Christian Trade Unions (CNV) and the Trade Union Federation for Middle and Higher Level Employees (MHP). The comments of the Netherlands Trade Union Confederation (FNV) were received and transmitted to the Government in November-December 2004.

2. Implementation of an employment policy in the framework of a coordinated economic and social policy. The Government indicates in its report that the labour market trends reflect the economic slowdown of the years 2002-04. While the unemployment rate rose from 3.9 per cent in 2002 to 6.5 per cent in 2004, which translated into 238,000 more people being jobless, the employment rate for the whole population was still above 70 per cent, thus meeting the quantitative employment targets defined by the European Union. The Government aims to increase the employment rate, mainly by improving the effectiveness of various social security schemes (for instance, by revising some aspects of the unemployment benefit schemes), by taking measures to encourage labour force participation among certain groups (e.g. older workers), and by increasing the effectiveness of reintegration policy and giving people a financial incentive to move from claiming benefit to paid work. The Government also wants to curtail the steady growth in the number of work-disabled people, which means that a reform of the invalidity insurance system seems also inevitable. The Committee recalls that its General Survey of 2004 highlighted the procedures of policy coordination in the Netherlands (see General Survey of 2004 on promoting employment, box I.4). The Committee asks the Government to continue to report on how measures to promote full employment operate within a "framework of a coordinated economic and social policy" (Article 2, paragraph (a) of the Convention) and to indicate the difficulties encountered and the results obtained by its employment policy orientations. Further, concerning the reforms envisaged for the methods of providing unemployment benefit, the Committee recalls that the measures taken to promote productive employment should be taken in coordination with employment policy means (see General Survey, op. cit., paragraph 47). In this regard, the Committee would appreciate if the Government could clarify how the revision of the unemployment benefit schemes will contribute to promoting the re-entry into employment of the beneficiaries.

3. In its 2002 observation, the Committee had noted with interest that the Government had called for "investment-oriented collective labour agreements" to be negotiated with a view to establish a relationship between responsible pay increases, qualitative investments and flexible pay structures. The Government reports that in 2002, an average of 2.5 per cent pay increase for 2003 was agreed upon. An increase of 0 per cent was also agreed upon for 2004 and 2005. The Government indicates that reaching an agreement on early retirement and pre-pensioning systems has not yet been possible. The Committee would appreciate being kept informed on the efforts made by the Government and the social partners to promote employment and the measures taken with regard to income and wages.

4. Youth employment. Ethnic minorities. The Government further indicates that objectives have been set up concerning unemployment among young people. The Government’s target is that youth unemployment (aged 15-22 excluding school children and students) over the period 2003-07 should not be more than twice the total unemployment rate. A youth unemployment action plan has thus been put forward and the objective is that every unemployed young person should be in work and/or studying again within six months. The Government also states that another objective is to increase the employment rate among ethnic minorities from 50 per cent in 2002 to 54 per cent by 2005 and points out that equal opportunities and minorities policy will play an important role in achieving this target. The Committee looks forward to receive from the Government in its next report an assessment of the impact of these measures in achieving its objectives of increasing the labour force and reducing unemployment for young people and ethnic minorities.

5. Older workers. With regard to the participation rate of older workers, the Government indicates that it has set a target to increase labour market participation of older workers from 37 per cent to 40 per cent by 2007. Furthermore, the Government mentions the introduction, as of 1 May 2004, of the Equal Treatment of Older Workers Act, which bans age discrimination in hiring and selection of new personnel, promotion, dismissals, wages, secondary benefits, etc., unless there exists objective reasons for age limits. The Committee welcomes these measures and asks the Government to continue to supply information on the assessment and the outcome of these efforts to increase the participation rate of older workers.

6. Participation of the social partners in the formulation and application of policies. The Committee notes the comments formulated by the FNV to the effect that during the reporting period, on several occasions the FNV has presented to the Government alternatives that would have resulted in more effective labour market and employment policies, but the Government has not taken these alternatives seriously into account. According to the FNV, this was the case in particular when the Government introduced the early retirement and pre-pension measures. The FNV considers that unbalanced economic policies, ineffective labour market policies and intimidating social policies will increase tensions in society as a whole and negatively impact on relations between trade unions and employers’ organizations. The Committee recalls that Article 3 of the Convention provides that the measures to be taken in relation to employment policy should take fully into account the experience and views of the representatives of employers’ and workers’ organizations with a view to securing their full cooperation in formulating and implementing employment policies. Governments and representative organizations of employers and workers share responsibility for ensuring that representatives of the more vulnerable or marginalized sectors of the active population are associated as closely as possible with the formulation and implementation of measures of which they should be the prime beneficiaries (see General Survey, op. cit., paragraph 493). The Committee trusts that the Government will be able to provide indications in its next report on the manner in which it has actively sought the views of employers’ and workers’ representatives concerning all issues related to employment policies, with a view to taking fully into account their experience and views and securing their full cooperation in formulating and enlisting support for such policies.