Nine projects were simultaneously launched in Apeldoorn, Eindhoven, Nijmegen, Woerden and other cities, in sectors such as wood, construction, graphic design or health, to help laid off employees look for a job. Each project is run by one institution, always different, going from unions to employers’ organizations or sectoral organizations. The government released €2M for this pilot-project, named “van werk naar werk” (from work to work), which aims to prevent long-term unemployment. The unions and employers’ organizations involved will receive a maximum subsidy of €2,500 per employee assisted this way. Businesses who want to lay off will have to pay the same contributions as the public powers. The project only concerns businesses laying off at least 50 people. Henk Kamp, Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, explained that the employees who will receive the most support will be the ones that have the fewest chances of finding a job quickly and on their own. The government is pursuing a pragmatic goal: it wants to test businesses’ cooperation capacity in one region to combat unemployment.
the employees who will receive the most support will be the ones that have the fewest chances of finding a job quickly and on their own. The government is pursuing a pragmatic goal: it wants to test businesses’ cooperation capacity in one region to combat unemployment.
Planet Labor, February 21, 2011, No. 110118 – www.planetlabor.com
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