Sunday 23 January 2022

Wages failed to keep up with inflation in 2021, hospitality workers hard hit

Wages failed to keep up with inflation in 2021, hospitality workers hard hit

Wages rose by an average of 2.1% last year, national statistics agency CBS said on Thursday. Pay rises agreed in centralised negotiations between unions and employers averaged 2.2% in the first six months of the year and 1.9% in the second half, the CBS said. Given inflation was around 2.4% last year, wages failed to keep pace with the rise in consumer prices. Hospitality industry wages rose just 0.3%, as coronavirus shut down cafes and restaurants for much of the... More >

Union sets up Long Covid hotline

Union sets up Long Covid hotline

The FNV trade union federation has started a register for healthcare staff who have developed Long Covid, which they suspect may affect thousands of front-line workers. The public health institute RIVM estimates 238,000 healthcare workers caught coronavirus and, the FNV says, most of the Long Covid reports they have had come from people who work in nursing homes or as home nurses. The FNV and fellow union federation CNV have for some time been urging the cabinet to set up... More >

Unemployment falls to 18-year low

Unemployment falls to 18-year low

The official Dutch unemployment rate continues to fall, hitting 2.7% in November – which is the lowest figure since the current method of calculating joblessness was introduced in 2003. In total, the monthly jobless total fell by 26,000, compared with October, national statistics office CBS said. New coronavirus measures were introduced in November, with earlier closing times for shops, cinemas and the hospitality sector. At the start of the coronavirus crisis, 426,000 people were officially classed as unemployed in the... More >

10,000 sign up to help booster campaign

10,000 sign up to help booster campaign

Almost 10,000 people have come forward to help with the coronavirus booster vaccination campaign, regional health board association GGD-GHOR has said. The list includes healthcare workers such as dentists and medical students, while people without medical training can sign up to check IDs or act as hosts, personnel chief Katie Harley told NOS radio. Companies have also come forward offering their staff. Before the volunteers can start work, officials first have to check they have the relevant paperwork and skills.... More >

Again fewer welfare benefit claims

Again fewer welfare benefit claims

Fewer people were claiming welfare benefits at the end of the third quarter of this year than during the same period in 2020, according to new figures from national statistics agency CBS. By the end of September, 419,000 people were claiming welfare (bijstand), down 5,500 on the year earlier period, the CBS said. It was the second quarterly decline in a row. CBS chief economist Peter Hein van Mulligen told broadcaster NOS he suspected the tight labour market had led... More >

Inspectors call for new exploitation law

Inspectors call for new exploitation law

Social affairs ministry inspectors have urged the government to change the rules covering the exploitation of seasonal and other workers so it is easier to take cases to court. At the moment, failing to pay minimum wage rates and working in unsafe conditions is treated as a form of human trafficking, and that makes it harder to prosecute, the inspectors say. ‘Prosecution is not possible in serious cases even though the crime would merit it,’ the inspectors’ report states. The... More >

Home working is here to stay, firms say

Home working is here to stay, firms say

Some two-thirds of companies where it is possible to work both at home and at the office will continue to do so, according to new research by national statistics agency CBS. The research, based on figures collected from a wide variety of sources, show that large firms – those with more than 250 workers – are most likely to be gearing up towards some form of permanent hybrid working. Three quarters of big firms say they are moving in this... More >

Seasonal workers to get more rights

Seasonal workers to get more rights

Work has been finalised on a new pay and conditions deal which will give seasonal workers more rights, Trouw reported on Thursday. The deal means that EU workers who are brought in by staffing agencies will be guaranteed two months full pay at minimum wage rates, even if it transpires there is not enough work for them to do, the paper said. People brought in to work in the construction sector or slaughterhouses often hear after their arrival that there... More >

Latest news

More Latest news >

Features

 More features >
Freshly squeezed and full of goodness: 24 Oranges goes Dutch News
DutchNews podcast: The Old Politics Die Hard Edition
Coronavirus at work: can your boss ask if you have been vaccinated?
Start inquiry into excess deaths now to make better decisions later
Bye-bye, boring book: online inburgering course simplifies Dutch society exam
Former health minister Hugo de Jonge slips up again
Daily newsletter
SIGN UP