Each year, the Social and Economic Council of the Netherlands adopts a new work programme based on the annual letter it receives from the Dutch Government. The letter lists the most important policy proposals on which the Government intends to seek the Council’s advice in the year ahead. In addition to the Government, the Upper and Lower Chambers of the Dutch Parliament may request the Council’s advice. The Council may also receive unanticipated requests for advice. Finally, given the Council’s role as an agenda-setting body and discussion platform, it may decide to issue advisory reports or to develop other activities on its own initiative.
Below are selected entries from the 2010 work programme.
Advisory and other projects
Social and economic policy 2011-2015
Once every two years, the Council advises the Cabinet on the broad outlines of the Netherlands’ social and economic policy as viewed within the European context, for example the Lisbon strategy. At the end of 2009, the Government will ask the Council to advise it on its social and economic policy for the coming term.
Preparations for 2010 EU Spring Summit The main topic of the EU’s Spring Summit in 2010 will be the progress made by the Union and its member states on the Lisbon Agenda. To help prepare the Netherlands’ position during the Summit, the Council will consult with the relevant cabinet members.
Housing market A committee of social and economic experts within the Council will produce an independent, wide-ranging and exploratory analysis of the housing market. The Dutch housing market is operating poorly at present, leading to a series of bottlenecks. In an earlier advisory report, the Council called on the Dutch Government to pursue a balanced housing policy.
Approach to sustainable development Sustainability is one of the Government’s top priorities. It considers it vital for the authorities, the public and civil society to work together in this area. The Government has therefore asked the Council to advise it on the transition to a sustainable economy and how to manage the friction between promoting sustainability and competition policy.
Bio-based economy Bio-based economy is a relatively new concept in the farming sector. It involves the production of chemicals, fibres and fuels based on vegetable products. The development of a bio-based economy could have major consequences for global agricultural markets. In its request for advice, the Government has focused on the opportunities, points of concern and dilemmas involved in ensuring that the Netherlands plays a significant role in the bio-based economy.
Free-market policy The Lower Chamber has asked the Council to advise it on the introduction of more far-reaching free-market policies in future. It would like the Council to consider in particular how best to safeguard the public interest and deal with the interests of such stakeholders as consumers, employers, employees and future generations.
Exploring mid- to long-term labour market trends The size of the labour force is set to decline in the decades ahead as a result of the ageing of the population and the falling birth rate. A Council committee is investigating the labour market in this context, with a particular focus on the mid- to long-term perspective.
Future position of young people in the labour market The Council has taken the initiative of preparing an advisory report on the implications of various social trends for the future labour market position of young people. One consideration is whether institutions and regulations should be overhauled.
Encouraging worker mobility between public and private sectors The Government will ask the Council to advise it on how to encourage job-to-job mobility between the private and public sectors. In particular, it will ask the Council to consider which obstacles stand in the way of worker mobility and what the social partners and/or government can do to help remove those obstacles.
Long-term employability The Government wishes the Council to advise it on how to maintain and encourage the long-term employability of the labour force. One relevant issue is the decline in employability and mobility among older workers (in particular those aged 60 and older).
Cultural aspects of safe and healthy working practices The number of accidents that occur in the workplace appears to be on the rise. As a result, the EU has decided to make greater efforts to reduce the number of industrial accidents in the years ahead. It can achieve that aim by raising employer and employee consciousness of safety and altering behaviour and the “safety culture” in companies. The Government’s question is what role employers, employees and government can play in embedding and operationalizing the necessary behavioural changes and which measures can be undertaken to do so.
Position of self-employed persons The Government has asked the Council whether the current industrial relations and tax and social insurance systems are future-proof, given the growing number of self-employed persons. The group of self-employed with no staff – whose work is comparable to that of employees – has been growing dramatically in recent years. Eventually, this trend could undermine the solidarity of the social insurance system and make it more difficult to sustain tax facilities for businesses.
Development cooperation In response to its advisory report Duurzame Globalisering: een wereld te winnen, the Council was asked to advise on the integration of developing countries into the world economy. The advice will focus on aid for trade, promoting social dialogue institutions and the contribution that the private sector can make toward achieving the Millennium Goals, intended to result in a major reduction in poverty, sickness and hunger before 2015.
Supply chain responsibility The trade union federations and peak employers’ associations have signed a Statement on International Corporate Social Responsibility. The Statement provides a normative framework for responsible supply chain management. A Council committee will report annually on the progress made in implementing the Statement and produce an evaluation in 2012.