The cabinet will meet on Monday with various trade unions and employers to discuss, among other things, the purchasing power crisis. Sources from The Hague confirm this to the political editors of RTL Nieuws.
Although the agreement between the cabinet and trade unions and employers had been planned for some time, the current tensions regarding purchasing power have put them in a completely different light. According to an insider, the cabinet wants to ‘test the temperature in the polder about the purchasing power measures that the cabinet will present the next day on Budget Day’.
The ministers also want to see whether a polder agreement might still be possible.
This spring there was talk of a possible social agreement. That now seems very difficult because the unions and employers are miles apart. The unions feel powerful, especially after the collective labor agreement for the railways enforced by strikes.
Employers are quite willing to raise wages, but not at the percentages that unions demand.
A substantial wage increase next year would be a blessing for the cabinet because then the purchasing power of people who work will improve. By linking benefits to wages, people on benefits also benefit from higher wages.
Possibly still measures this year
According to insiders, during Monday’s consultation, measures that can be taken this year to improve people’s purchasing power will also be discussed.
The cabinet is trying with all its might to help citizens who get into trouble due to the extremely high energy price. Whether that will work is still unclear. The Council of Ministers is expected to make a decision on this on Friday.
