Amsterdam - Labour unions and employers' associations in the
Netherlands have rejected the government's decision to stop all
special unemployment payments it has made available in the wake
of the economic crisis.
'The government's argument that funding for these special payments
is suddenly finished, is not acceptable,' Najoua Aachboune,
spokeswoman for the largest Dutch labour union FNV told the German
Press Agency dpa on Tuesday.
The largest Dutch employer association VNO-NCW, meanwhile, warned
that stopping the special payments would cause 'unrest' among
entrepreneurs and recommended that payments should continue until
January 2010.
In March, the government instituted a special unemployment payment
program by which companies could seek permission to cut employees'
work hours. This would allow companies to save on expenses while
retaining staff.
The companies would only pay their employees for the reduced hours
they had worked, while the government would pay the employment so-
called 'part time unemployment money' for the remainder of their
hours.
But on Monday, Social Affairs Minister Piet Hein Donner said the
375 million euros (520 million dollars) reserved for these special
unemployment payments had run out much quicker than expected.
The Social Affairs Department would only consider applications
received no later than June 23.
'The number of applications has risen faster than we thought,'
Donner said on Dutch television.
He added many employers had applied for the special payments not
because their companies lacked work, but because they wanted to save
company expenses during the crisis.
But FNV spokeswoman Aachboune said the sharp increase in
applications demonstrated the 'success' of the special programe that
would 'save jobs'.
She disputed that the funding had run out, saying, 'this is money
contributed by the employees and employers themselves, through their
salaries.'
The FNV, other labour unions and employers' associations are due
to discuss the matter with Donner.
Parliament is due to debate the issue next week, but the two
largest government coalition parties, the Christian Democrats and
Labour Party, have asked to meet with Donner beforehand.
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