The Christian Trade Union Federation has proposed the idea of offering non-standard or flexible workers the right to more training, to strengthen their position in the labour market. The proposal has been backed by a majority of the Dutch House of Representatives. The Labour Party would like to expand this right to include all employees but the government is opposed to a statutory obligation in this respect. Employer organisations have also responded negatively to any statutory right.
The Christian Trade Union Federation (Christelijk Nationaal Vakverbond, CNV) has proposed offering non-standard or flexible workers the option of more training. Studies commissioned by CNV show that half a million employees work on the basis of a temporary contract. This includes workers on fixed-term contracts which expire automatically after a fixed period, as well as on-call workers with zero-hour contracts and temporary employees. The overall proportion of flexible workers seems to have remained relatively constant over the years.
Lower opportunities for temporary workers
It has been found that, once these employees are awarded a temporary contract, they do not quickly transfer to a permanent contract. Moreover, the longer employees remain in an insecure situation, the lower their chances are of being offered a permanent contract. People on a temporary contract account for almost half of those claiming benefits under the Unemployment Insurance Act (Werkloosheidswet, WW). This is precisely why CNV wants flexible workers to be awarded the same training rights as employees in permanent positions. Flexible workers, in particular, should be given the opportunity to increase their employability as they are forced to change jobs more frequently than full-time employees are.
CNV commissioned the study on temporary workers in the run-up to an evaluation of the 1999 Flexibility and Security Act (Wet Flexibiliteit en Zekerheid) (NL9901117F); this act restricted the number of consecutive temporary contracts to a maximum of three consecutive one-year contracts.
Proposals in relation to flexible workers
In light of the forthcoming evaluation of the Flexibility and Security Act, CNV has issued a number of recommendations to the Dutch government. The trade union federation believes that training costs incurred for flexible workers should be made financially deductible for employers. CNV is also calling for the introduction of higher unemployment benefit premiums for flexible workers. Companies that opt for a large number of flexible workers have to pay higher costs associated with unemployment benefit premiums than employers hiring more full-time employees do. Employers should also be required to justify why they offer employees temporary contracts, giving employees a greater insight into what they can expect.
CNV intends to regulate these issues in the respective collective agreements. In time, legislation could confirm and make these arrangements universally applicable. CNV’s proposal is being backed by a majority of the Dutch House of Representatives; the latter aims to begin by awarding flexible workers the right to training. The house insists that the position of these workers in the labour market must be strengthened.
Proposal for compulsory training for all workers
The Labour Party (Partij van de Arbeid, PvdA) would like to expand the right to training by making it compulsory for all employers to offer employees at least one week of training a year. Employees would be awarded the right to training through a personal training account. The PvdA has submitted the legislative proposal in the context of a labour market where employees are more frequently being confronted by increasing competition, rationalisation and the outsourcing of jobs to low-wage countries. Training would offer a solution to such problems, providing prospects for a successful career within a complex labour market. Studies conducted by the Scientific Council for Government Policy (Wetenschappelijke Raad voor het Regeringsbeleid, WRR) confirm this logic, providing evidence of a positive link between training, labour productivity and wages.
However, the governing coalition parties – the Christian Democratic Appeal (Christen Democratisch Appèl, CDA) and the Christian Union (ChristenUnie, CU) – have responded negatively to the proposal for a statutory obligation, as put forward by the PvdA. The social partners are themselves required to negotiate training arrangements in the collective agreements. Employer organisations, including the Confederation of Netherlands Industry and Employers (Vereniging van Nederlandse Ondernemingen-Nederlands Christelijk Werkgeversverbond, VNO-NCW) and the Dutch Federation of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (Midden- en Kleinbedrijf Nederland, MKB-Nederland), have also responded negatively to the idea of introducing a statutory right with respect to training.
Marianne Grünell, Hugo Sinzheimer Institute (HSI)