Twenty years ago, the government of the day, together with the trade unions and employers’ federation, agreed the so-called “Treaty of Wasnaar,” regarded as the precursor of the Polder model. The unions agreed to long-term wage cuts and flexible working conditions, while the employers offered to open up large numbers of part-time jobs. At the same time, the government guaranteed drastic cuts in business taxes. Government contributions for social welfare were cut, in order to balance the state budget.
Low wages brought a revival in Dutch exports and the official rate of unemployment fell from nearly 10 percent in 1983 to under 3 percent last year. In terms of economic growth, the Netherlands exceeded the average in Europe as a whole and state indebtedness was curbed.
The British Economist magazine wrote of the “Dutch Delight,” and German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, shortly after taking office, visited the Netherlands to get a close look at the country’s “Alliance for Jobs.” Once branded the “sick man of the dykes,” the Netherlands became “the European role model.”
However, the pro-business policies of the social democratic regime resulted in a rapid growth of the “working poor.” Currently, more than a third of all workers are employed in a part-time job, often less than 12 hours a week, and very poorly paid. This figure is double the number of those working part-time in Germany.
Low wages brought a revival in Dutch exports and the official rate of unemployment fell from nearly 10 percent in 1983 to under 3 percent last year. In terms of economic growth, the Netherlands exceeded the average in Europe as a whole and state indebtedness was curbed.
The British Economist magazine wrote of the “Dutch Delight,” and German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, shortly after taking office, visited the Netherlands to get a close look at the country’s “Alliance for Jobs.” Once branded the “sick man of the dykes,” the Netherlands became “the European role model.”
However, the pro-business policies of the social democratic regime resulted in a rapid growth of the “working poor.” Currently, more than a third of all workers are employed in a part-time job, often less than 12 hours a week, and very poorly paid. This figure is double the number of those working part-time in Germany.