State Secretary Van Huffelen gives room for end of 12.5% salary reduction
State Secretary Alexandra van Huffelen (Kingdom Relations) wants to give room to the countries to stop the 12.5% salary reduction. The salary cut was introduced in mid-2020 in response to the corona pandemic as a sign of solidarity towards the market and to reduce the countries' government spending. Now that the cost of ordinary life is getting higher and higher, the 12.5% salary cut should be reconsidered, the State Secretary believes.
State Secretary Van Huffelen: “The costs of ordinary life have risen enormously recently, partly due to the war in Ukraine. Many people are struggling with high costs of, for example, food and rent. Moreover, now that the economy is recovering, the requirement to cut salaries by 12.5% no longer weighs in favor of those costs. In addition, recruiting staff is becoming increasingly difficult, while good staff is of great importance. With this, I want to give the administrators room to abolish the 12.5% at their own pace.”
The main condition for abolishing the 12.5% pay cut at own pace is that previous agreements on the norming of top incomes must be realized and the pay cut for politicians must remain in place. The abolishment of the 12.5% will be discussed during the National Council of Ministers on the 25th of May.
State Secretary Van Huffelen (Kingdom Relations) will be in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom next week. From Monday, the 23rd until Friday, the 27th of May, she will travel to Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten to meet residents, entrepreneurs, volunteers and social organizations and to listen to their dreams and concerns.