Former politicians face benefit cuts

Thursday 02 July 2009

Former politicians and senior public officials face a clampdown on their generous unemployment benefit system known as wachtgeld, RTL news reports.

Home affairs minister Gusje ter Horst wants to cut the maximum period politicians can claim benefit from six to four years and to make sure they apply for new jobs while claiming. The cabinet will discuss the plan on Friday.

The proposals followmounting concern at the preferential treatment given to politicians who lose their jobs or resign.

At the moment, they can claim benefits for up to six years. For the first year they get 80% of their annual income - or €105,000. This is reduced to 70% in the following years. Unlike ordinary citizens they do they have to apply for jobs in order to claim benefits.

Ter Horst also wants a public register of all the additional jobs which politicians and council executives do, RTL says. Some executives have dozens of extra functions, leading to concern that they are not focusing properly on their council work.

Earlier this year it emerged that Delft's mayor had 79 other jobs.

© DutchNews.nl

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