No free movement of workers for Bulgarians and Romanians

The Netherlands will not introduce free movement of workers for Bulgarians and Romanians. This implies that employers still have to apply for a work permit should they desire to employ workers from these countries.

This has been decided by the Council of Ministers on the basis of a proposal by Minister Donner of the ministry of Social Affairs and Employment.

The development of the economy as well as the consequences this will have for employment development are unpredictable. Therefore, it has been decided not to open the labour market to workers from Bulgaria and Romania at this stage.

Improved Globalisation Fund will help more European workers.

On 16 December 2008, the European Commission moved to help people made redundant as a result of the economic crisis by improving the European Globalisation adjustment Fund (EGF).

The proposal to revise the EGF aims to bring its operations closer into line with its objective of solidarity towards workers who have lost their jobs – in particular in these times of economic crisis. The new proposals will make the EGF a more effective crisis response instrument, helping more people to find their way back into the labour market.

In its European Economic Recovery Plan of 26 November 2008, the Commission announced its intention to revise the EGF to extend its scope as part of the Europe’s crisis response package and to make it a more effective intervention instrument, in line with the fundamental principles of solidarity and social justice.

To achieve the objective of showing solidarity towards workers who lose their jobs, the proposal makes changes to the existing EGF regulation (1927/2006) which should allow it to help a larger number of redundant workers back into the labour market.

The changes should enhance the performance of the Fund by: 

• lowering the eligibility threshold for EGF applications from 1000 to 500 redundant workers;
• extending to 24 months the duration of EGF support (currently 12 months) so as to allow sufficient time for the measures to be effective in re-integrating particularly the most vulnerable workers into new jobs.
• increasing the EU financial contribution from 50% to 75% to better reflect the emergency nature of the contribution (the other portion being paid by Member States);
• temporarily broadening the scope of eligibility for assistance under the EGF to encompass workers adversely affected by the economic and financial crisis, and not only those (as is the case at present) who lose their jobs as a result of changes in world trade patterns

Jobs to go at Ordina

Computer software company Ordina is to reduce its workforce by 350 because of the sharp fall in demand. Ordina issued a profit warning last month.

One third of the jobs will go in support services. The company has a workforce of 5,300.

ASML cuts 10% of jobs

Chip machine maker ASML said on Thursday it is to cut its workforce by 1,000 jobs because of the stagnating global economy.

In addition, some production units will be shut down temporarily next year.

‘Never before have we witnessed such a sharp and sudden fall-off in lithography system demand, triggered by an unprecedented mix of falling end-demand for semiconductors, weak memory prices and restricted access to capital for our customers,’ said CEO Eric Meurice in a statement.

The job losses represent some 10% of the workforce and mostly affect people on temporary contracts, ASML said. The company will also apply for help from the Dutch government’s short-time working scheme.

The company also downgraded its fourth quarter sales forecast from €530m to between €450m and €500m.

More requests to cut jobs

The number of requests to sack staff made to the CWI job centres reached 3,300 in November, 1,000 more than the same period in 2007, reports Trouw.

‘Most are to do with the economic situation,’said CWI spokesman Frank Bartelds. Until August, some 2,000 applications to sack staff were being made on a monthly basis.

DSM cut its workforce by 5%!

Chemicals company DSM is to cut its workforce by 5%, or around 1,000 jobs, the Heerlen based firm said on Monday. And DSM also lowered its earnings forecast for the second time this year.

The company expects the job cuts will lead to annual savings of €100m from 2010.

‘It is clear that the turmoil which began in the financial sector is seriously eroding business and consumer confidence in the wider economy. Although our Life Sciences businesses are continuing to perform well, most of our Materials Sciences businesses have increasingly been affected by the economic downturn,’ CEO Feike Sijbesma said in a statement.

DSM has been hit particularly hard by falling demand for the high-value products it supplies to the car, electronics and building materials industries, news agency ANP said.

The company now expects full year operating profit before extraordinary items to total €900m, down from an earlier forecast of €1bn.

Action for a stronger economy

The Dutch government is taking action to limit the impact of the credit crisis on the Dutch economy, Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende announced after the cabinet meeting on Friday.

The cabinet discussed at length the negative economic outlook as a result of the credit crisis. With its open economy, the Netherlands is by no means immune to a global downturn in trade and economic growth, Mr Balkenende said.

Measures

The government is introducing several measures to control the negative effects of the credit crisis on the economy. It aims to give businesses more ‘breathing space’ by boosting their liquidity. Accelerated depreciation, for instance, will be reintroduced.

The government will also introduce a reduced working hours scheme in which employees could temporarily receive unemployment benefits in order to avert redundancies.

Finally, the government aims to bring forward infrastructural projects, such as the new Delta works.

The Prime Minister also said that the government would settle its accounts more quickly, a measure that will especially benefit small and medium-sized businesses.

New limits on executive bonuses

Executives with an income of more than €500,000 will no longer be eligible for bonuses which depend on their company’s share price as from next year, the Volkskrant reports on Wednesday.

A majority MPs voted in favour of a Labour plan which stops the paying of share-price related bonuses to top earners, a policy currently followed by companies such as KPN, the paper says.

Employers are strongly opposed to the plan, which they say will damage the Netherlands’ efforts to attract more international companies.

MPs are due to debate ways to control executive pay at state-owned companies and public sector institutions later on Wednesday, reports the paper.

Ministers have drawn up proposals which would limit pay levels in some sectors but give the market free reign in others. For example, educational institutions would not be able to pay directors more than the prime minister’s salary of €171,000, but energy firms would be allowed to offer executives the market rate.

Left-wing parties say healthcare institutions and housing corporations should also keep salaries down. According to Socialist Party research, some 40% of nursing home bosses earn more than the prime minister.

Europass CV

The Europass CV

Use of the Europass CV makes applying for a job in Europe, and in Holland in general, a lot easier. The Europass CV is a European standard model Curriculum Vitae with which you can present yourself when you are looking for a job or an internship within the EU.

In the Europass CV you can add information on the following subjects:

• Your identity

• Your work experience

• Training you have participated in and/or have completed

• The level of your language skills

• Personal skills and competencies

• Additional information such as hobbies and extra-curricular activities

Europass is used throughout Europe. And is therefore available in all European languages. That is what makes the Europass CV so cut out for job applications on an international level. In other words: You can use Europass CV when you intend to apply for jobs in a different European country than your own. The special thing about Europass CV is that you can list and present your skills and competencies in a structured way. Employers too, are likely to ask for the Europass CV in the future, when placing a vacancy. Europass is a significant aid in the process of comparing and assessment of qualifications and competencies of candidates.

The CV has an easy-to-use online template format, but you can also download an empty format. You can fill in your CV as well as update your current CV (XML format) by following the link listed below, which will guide you to a European website.

The sections you do not wish to use, can be left empty. These sections do not appear on your CV. Should you wish to add extra information, for instance on your language skills, foreign internships or previously obtained foreign certificates, you can use the other Europass documents in addition to the Europass CV. 

More information.

Diploma Validation and Qualifications in the Netherlands

If you have obtained your diploma in another country and want to work in the Netherlands, you probably need to know what a particular credential is worth in terms of the Dutch system. The Netherlands has two centers of expertise in the evaluation of international credentials: Nuffic (for higher education) in The Hague and Colo (for vocational education) in Zoetermeer.

Depending on your plans on how to make use of your qualifications in the Netherlands, you can use either of these centers. It is therefore highly recommended that you first call the Information Center for Credential Evaluation (IcDW) for general advice. The centers of expertise have set up this Information Center. 

When you are entitled to live and work in The Netherlands and you are officially registered as a jobseeker at a local CWI-office, CWI can support you in getting the necessary answers regarding your qualifications and diploma validation. 

Nuffic

Nuffic’s full name is Netherlands Organization for International Cooperation in Higher Education. Within Nuffic, the Department for International Credential Evaluation is responsible for comparing education and assessing diplomas. Nuffic’s work also involves the evaluation of credentials and competencies. The aim of Nuffic’s work is to remove obstacles standing in the way of students and workers who wish to be internationally mobile and either enter or leave the Netherlands.

Nuffic also carries out projects in the field of credential evaluation, and - on the basis of international treaties - has been appointed by the education ministry to act as national information centre regarding matters of recognition. It does this in two international networks: the European Commission’s NARIC network (National Academic Recognition Information Centres) and the network of the Council of Europe and UNESCO/CEPES known as ENIC (European National Information Centres on Recognition and Mobility).

Contact information:

Monday to Friday from 09:00 to 12:30 hrs at the Information Centre for Credential Evaluation (IcDW)

P.O. Box 7338 2701 AH Zoetermeer, the Netherlands, telephone +31-79 3217930, fax +31-79 3217929

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Colo

Colo is the association of national bodies responsible for vocational training for the private sector. Colo represents 18 bodies, or ‘knowledge centres’, each of which is organized around one sector of business or industry. 

Colo also has its own department for international credential evaluation, which is a centre of expertise on diplomas, certificates and other qualifications awarded in other countries. Colo assesses these qualifications by comparing them to the Dutch qualifications that can be acquired through vocational and adult education. This service has an official character. The Dutch Ministry of Education has appointed Colo as the national information centre regarding the EU Directives for a General System, which regulates access to certain professions within the member states of the EU and the EEA. Colo’s credential evaluation department belongs to a number of international networks which foster mobility and transparency in qualifications. These include Netref (European Network of National Reference Structures for Vocational Education).

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