Ministers, employers and union officials will not try to reach a deal on amending redundancy legislation law during Wednesday afternoon’s employment summit although the issue will be on the agenda, news agency ANP reported.

It is a difficult subject which will be discussed, prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende said before the talks began.
Agnes Jongerius, chairwoman of the FNV, Holland’s biggest trade union federation, said she does not expect any changes in the entrenched positions on redundancy. The view was shred by Bernard Wientjes, chairman of employers’ organsation VNO-NCW who said he had ‘no illusions’ about the outcome of the meeting.
Earlier, social affairs minister Piet Hein Donner seemed to imply the cabinet had drawn up a proposition to be discussed at the summit. But he later back-pedalled, saying speculation about a €75,000 limit on golden handshakes was simply a ‘contribution’ to the discussions.
The roundtable talks, which began at 2pm, are aimed at getting 200,000 more people into jobs.
Meanwhile junior social affairs minister Ahmed Aboutaleb today received the green light from Brussels for a €830m subsidy from the European Social Fund to help people find jobs and better training.