The shortage on the labor market is unprecedented, which means that there are major concerns that our country will come to a standstill in the short term. The cabinet, employers and trade unions have all kinds of plans and measures to solve the problems, but there is no concrete all-encompassing action plan for the time being.
“And that is not necessary at all,” says FNV chairman Tuur Elzinga in conversation with NU.nl. “It is not that there is a lack of ideas. There are numerous recommendations on the shelf that have been agreed in the Social and Economic Council (SER), but they have not been implemented for years by the government and employers. Moreover, we have no need for an action plan at all to invest in employees.”
According to Elzinga, this is one of the main reasons why we are now dealing with a major staff shortage. “We have warned about this for years. These problems were already there long before corona. Little was invested in new employees. We are dealing with high absenteeism in various sectors, and a high workload, which causes many people to drop out. and there is a good reason why there is a significant throughput in education. We are now in a vicious circle.”
Employers are also aware of the problems. A spokesperson for VNO-NCW and MKB-Nederland says: “We can already see that things are getting stuck in certain places: restaurants that close a few days a week, baggage handling at Schiphol, trains that run less, even our ambitions with regard to climate. , care, education and housing are in danger of being endangered. And then employers now also have to deal with extra absenteeism due to corona and we do not know how this will continue after the summer.”
The government recognizes the urgency. Minister Van Gennip (Social Affairs and Employment) recently announced a number of measures in a letter to the House of Representatives, such as stimulating technology and innovation, improving the connection between education and the labor market and stimulating lifelong learning and develop.
‘Government must make work more attractive’
A good thing, according to VNO-NCW and MKB-Nederland. “But in the short term, we think more is needed,” said the spokesperson. “Unconventional measures, by employers themselves and where necessary facilitated by the government. For example, the cabinet should make work more attractive, for example with a multi-hour bonus. It is also necessary for employers to gain better insight into the ‘card boxes’ of people who are still are not active in the labor market but want to.”
Employers also raise their hands. “We must, among other things, focus on further robotization and automation. Labor productivity in the Netherlands has hardly increased since 2009. And that while there are opportunities for automation and robotization for almost all sectors of the Dutch economy. Productivity offensive comes in which industry organizations help entrepreneurs and spread the latest knowledge. This reduces the demand and this can offer a solution for various sectors.”
‘We are dealing with a dish that has to simmer for a while’
Joop Schippers, professor of labor economics at the University of Utrecht, indicates that the government, employers and trade unions only come to the table and start working together if there is an urgent problem. “That is now the case, but we see that all parties have their own solutions. Employers think, for example, to attract employees by offering better working conditions. But that is patchwork, since problems arise elsewhere.”
Moreover, employers are in a difficult position to structurally solve the problems. Joop Schippers: “For a long time, companies have had the choice of employees. It is then difficult to recognize that there is a structural problem that must be solved together. We are actually dealing with a dish that has to simmer for a while. One thing that can speed up the process is when a number of people get together behind the scenes to see what’s possible.”
If it is up to FNV chairman Elzinga, that will not happen. “Employers should take a look in the mirror. Years ago we pointed out the problems at, for example, the NS about the aging population and investing in employees. Nothing has been done about it, and we see the result. It is just short-sighted.”
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