Subsidised labour in Belgium and the Netherlands

In: Transfer: the European review of labour and research ; quarterly review of the European Trade Union Institute, Band 7, Heft 1, S. 041-053

Abstract

In the 1980s and 1990s subsidised work has developed into a highly differentiated system involving both reductions in labour costs and integrated employment programmes operating in the private as well as the public sector. With the 'activation' concept becoming the key reference in both social and employment policy in the 1990s, employment programmes are also more sensitive to (at least the formal) profile of the jobseekers. The Netherlands, notably, are characterised by a comprehensive workfare approach. Although Belgium more typically has a mixture of mutually competing programmes, there is an equal pressure on the unemployed to engage in at least one of the employment programs. A more flexible view of activation should, however, also imply more possibilities for individual choice. Not everybody should be expected to be ready for the routine of full-time regular work. There seems to be at least some indications that policy is beginning to recognise this: the Netherlands are offering a few possibilities for voluntary work, while in Belgium some programmes allow for a combination of guidance, training and work.