If every Dutch company with a workforce of over 50 took on one long-term unemployed person every year, 200,000 people would have a job within three years, employers organisation VNO-NCW said on Monday.

In return, unions should be prepared to accept changes to the redundancy law and the government should pay half of the jobless person’s salary, employers said.
The job deal has been drawn up by the VNO-NCW, the organisation representing small and medium sized firms (MKB) and the farmers’ lobby group LTO.
Government ministers, trade unions and employers are to meet on Wednesday to discuss ways to achieve the cabinet pledge to find jobs for 200,000 long-term unemployed people.
Last week it emerged that the cabinet had agreed to limit the size of redundancy payouts to a maximum of €100,000 or one year’s salary. Social affairs minister Piet Hein Donner said later that ministers had not come up with a concrete plan but saw this as a ‘contribution’ to the current debate on employment issues.
Unions are largely critical of the employers’ plan. ‘They are acting as if this is a very generous deal,’ said FNV chairwoman Agnes Jongerius, arguing that employers want taxpayers to help fill job vacancies.