The Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment ( nl, Ministerie van Sociale Zaken en Werkgelegenheid; SZW) is the
Dutch ministry responsible for
social affairs, relations between
employers and employees,
social security,
trade unions and
emancipation. It was established in 1918 as the Ministry of Labour and had several name changes before it became the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment in 1981. The ministry is headed by the
Minister of Social Affairs and Employment, currently
Karien van Gennip of the
Christian Democratic Appeal.
Responsibilities
The ministry is responsible for five fields of policy:
* Employment and the
labour market
* Social security
*
Income-policy
* Relations between employers and employees
*
Occupational safety and health
Occupational safety and health (OSH), also commonly referred to as occupational health and safety (OHS), occupational health, or occupational safety, is a multidisciplinary field concerned with the safety, health, and welfare of people at wor ...
Organisation
The ministry is currently headed by one minister and one state secretary. The ministry's main office is located in
The Hague. The civil service is headed by a
secretary general (currently Loes Mulder) and a vice-secretary general, who head a system of three directorates general:
* Relations between employers and employees and international affairs
* Occupational safety and Health and social insurances
* Labour market policy and social welfare
Furthermore, there is an inspector general responsible for the inspection employment and income, who supervises the local centres for employment and income.
Mobility centres
Beginning in 2006, the Ministry established a network of mobility centres whose function is to coordinate the multiple companies of any given industry to facilitate the movement of employees between companies. This is seen as an alternative to forced lay-offs.
History
The ministry was founded in 1933, at the height of the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
. Before that the limited social policy had been the responsibility of the
ministry of Economic Affairs. After the Second World War the ministry became much more important, as the Netherlands transformed into a
welfare state.
In 1982 the responsibility for labour market policy was transferred to the ministry from the ministry of Economic Affairs in order to enlarge the portfolio of
Deputy Prime Minister Joop den Uyl. Emancipation also became a responsibility of the ministry.
References
External links
*
Ministerie van Sociale Zaken en Werkgelegenheid(Rijksoverheid)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment (Netherlands)
Social Affairs and Employment
Netherlands
Netherlands
Netherlands, Social Affairs and Employment
Labor in the Netherlands