Unemployed people could lose up to €900 a month under the new cabinet’s plans to cut spending on jobless benefits (WW), Dutch trade unions have told the AD.

Calculations by the FNV and CNV union federations show that the proposed reforms would significantly reduce both the level and duration of payments for many future claimants.

The coalition parties D66, VVD and CDA have agreed to cut around €1.5 billion from the WW budget partly by reducing the maximum duration of benefits from 24 months to 12 months.

In addition, the new administration plans to lower the cap on maximum payments to €3,700 a month from the current €4,600 a month, hitting higher earners. WW benefits are based on 70% of last earning salary up to the maximum.

The FNV estimates that around 24% of current claimants would receive less if the new rules were applied to them and warns that percentage could rise, pointing to recent job cuts at Heineken, ING and ASML.

Anyone earning around €5,000 gross a month, including holiday pay and a possible 13th month, would face lower benefits if they became unemployed under the new rules, the union said.

Halving the maximum duration from 24 to 12 months would also have a major impact, particularly on people over 55, who often find it hardest to return to work. The CNV calculates that an older, higher-earning employee could lose up to €66,000 in benefits as a result of both the lower cap and the shorter duration.

Younger workers would also be hit. Under current rules, someone must have worked 14 years to qualify for 12 months of benefit. Under the new plans, that would rise to 24 years. A 35-year-old who has worked for 14 years would in future be entitled to only seven months of benefit instead of 12.

Both unions have said they will oppose the plans.

“Unemployment benefits are funded by contributions for employers and employees,” said  CNV chairman Piet Fortuin. “Politicians plan to dip into that money.”