
Issue No 75		27 October 2000

LaborNET	Ask Neale	Tool of the Week

Interview

Civilized Capital

The FNV's Harrie Lindelauff explains to Peter Lewis how a friendly government and moderate employers make for a different sort of workplace in Holland.

Holland is currently being run by a Prime Minister who came out of the labour movement. Is that helping trade unions?

I don't think you can say it is helping the unions, but I also couldn't say it was not. Our relationship with politics is not as it was thirty or forty years ago. We talk with all political parties and we try to make deals with all of them. If you look at our membership the second biggest group in terms of membership are those who vote for the right-wing liberal party.

So there's no official affiliation with any one party?

No. The FNV is the product of a merger by the Catholic trade union movement and the social democratic trade union movement at the end of the seventies. What came out of that was a pluralistic trade union organisation that is open to everybody who works, regardless of their political or religious affiliations.

Are there political parties that are hostile to the union movement - or is there a general acceptance that unions have a role to play in society?

Just recently there was an interview with all the major leaders and what struck me was that they were all very positive about the role of trade unions. That includes the right-wing parties who you would expect to be a little more hostile. Although in practice on some issues we are obviously at odds with each other. But that's over the issue, not the question of whether trade unions are important for the development of society. They would accept that.

So what are the dominant issues confronting the Dutch movement at present?

The booming economy has created a shortage of labour and we get some signals that this is forcing people to work overtime. The related issue of excessive work, stress and pressure. This is being felt across most of the workforce.

You have a unique relationship with employers on working time - could you explain this?

In the period of the early eighties, the economy was in much worse shape than it is now. There was a unique agreement between Wim Kik (current Prime Minister) who was at that time leader of the GNV and his counterpart from the employers organisation. Trade unions promised moderate pursuit of wages. In exchange, employers promised they would lift their blockade to the reduction of working time.

It was a period of high unemployment and the reduction of working time from 40 to 38 to later 36 hours, was a very important strategy to build more jobs.

Was it accepted by those workers who already had the jobs?

It was a period when unemployment was very dramatic - workers were given the choice of higher wages or the creation of jobs - all said the creation of jobs. If you look at the period today; if we are self-critical we would say the reduction of the working week to 36 hours partly contributed to the increase of work pressure. The original idea was to reduce hours to create more jobs, but if the extra worker never came, the worker was just squeezing in more work to a shorter time. But there is evidence that the policy did create more jobs and at least prevented the increase in job losses. The question then became whether it was the suppression of wages or the working hours that was responsible.

On an international front, there has been debate this year about global labour standards. Has this emerged as an issue here?

Child labour is a big issue. The trade unions were one of the first to take this up. We arranged for the wife of Prime Minister Kok to receive the first carpet with a trade mark which guarantees no child labour was used in producing it several years ago. Since then we have supported projects in India and Pakistan where we try to get children out of the work and get them into education. Consumer campaigns like the rugs have been successful and allow ordinary people to play a role.

How's the overall strength of the union movement here?

Overall, between the GNV unions, the Democratic Christian unions which are Protestant; and the professional personnel - it would be 28 per cent. The influence that unions have has to do with the Dutch model of labour relations in which we look for win-win situations rather than looking for conflict. There are several examples where we have been able to resolve issues that divide unions, employers and the government in other countries.

For example, flexi-workers and the riseof agencies for temporary workers. At first, the trade unions struggled against it, but later out we found out that there were many workers to work in that kind of job. And at the same time, the demand from companies for these types of workers was increasing. Existing law didn't reflect this reality and we accepted there was a need for a new law. Political parties couldn't come to an agreement, so they asked the social partners (employers and trade unions) to deal with it.

What emerged was a compromise which lifted the old limitations on temporary work; another system was introduced under which temporary labourers, after a couple of years are given a permanent position with the agency. If you were to analyse the situation, if you lock yourself into opposing something that is a reality it is you who end up standing outside of reality. But if try to go with the flow, but to push it in a certain direction with more rights for workers, in the end both sides will be happy.

View entire issue - print all of the articles!

Issue 75 contents

Interview: Civilized Capital
The FNV's Harrie Lindelauff explains to Peter Lewis how a friendly government and moderate employers make for a different sort of workplace in Holland.

Politics: Where Too Much Politics Is Barely Enough
With daily newspapers providing polling and analysis, television, cable, radio and Internet providing 24 hour coverage over a year long campaign -- there's more than enough politics for even the most voracious American political junkie reports Michael Gadiel.

International: US Cleaners on Hunger Strike
A number of US cleaners have this week gone on a hunger strike to back a union campaign for higher wages.

Economics: The Pass The Risk Trick
Derivatives, often seen as the currency of casino capitalism, are the fastest growing, largest and potentially most volatile aspect of capitalist economies. Economist Dick Brian sees behind this image an even deeper danger.

Health: Depressing Workplaces
New technologies and the impact of globalisation have sparked more stress and bouts of depression for workers, while causing a growing burden for social security systems, a new ILO report says.

Unions: Costello's Con
The low paid are bearing the brunt of the GST with inflation at a 10 year high argues the ACTU's Greg Combet.

Satire: Bush campaign an in-joke, admit advisors
TEXAS, Thursday: Following Bush's disastrous performance in the first Presidential debate it has been revealed that his bid for president is actually the result of a in-joke about how stupid the American people are.

» ACTU Calls For Compo For Costello's Inflation Spike

» Despair At Our ABC

» Outlaw Banks Strike Again

» Church Leader Confesses: We're Not Always Good Employers

» Building Workers Win $150 A Week Pay Rise

» MUA Prosecutes Patrick

» WA Secrecy Laws Gag Union Members

» LHMU Seek $1 An Hour Rise

» Picket Protects Broadway Squats

» APHEDA Appeal For Palestinian Medical Relief

» World Bank, IMF To Consult Unions

» Festering Joy

» Heath Our Hero Wins Two Gold