The social affairs ministry on Tuesday gave permission to ten companies to cut their working hours under the short-time working measure brought in by the government to help cushion the effects of the financial crisis.

In total, 43 companies have applied for short-time working, most of them in the engineering industry, including car industry suppliers. Among them is steel concern Corus but the ministry could not say whether Corus has been given permission to cut its hours, says NRC.
Corus wants to introduce short-time working for around half of its 4,600 workers at Corus Steel in IJmuiden, says the paper. The company has been in trouble for some time due to the financial crisis and the downturn in demand for steel.
The workers already accepted a new pay and conditions (CAO) agreement in October which raised their wages by just 1.75%.
Car industry
Truck makers DAF in Eindhoven also wants to bring in short-time working but will not say how many of its workers this will affect. A spokesman told NRC it would affect ‘more than 100’. Until recently DAF employed 6,000 workers but a quarter of them have been laid off over the past few weeks.
Car maker Nedcar is in talks with the CNV trade union on shorter working weeks for about 1,000 workers at its Born factory where orders for the Mitsubishi Outlander and Colt it makes have fallen dramatically, says the paper. The sticking point in the negotiations is the union’s demand that temporary staff should be included in the move.
Nedcar also wants to halt production of both cars for three weeks after Christmas and then slow the production lines. The move could see production of the Outlander halved until summer 2009.
The short-time working measure has been extended by the government to cover companies hit by the economic crisis. Workers are then paid 70% of their wage from the unemployment benefit fund, with the company covering the other 30%.
If accepted by the employment ministry, the measure then covers a six-week period, with a maximum of three further six-week extensions.