Social-Economic Council

History

The SER was founded in 1950. It was founded after a long debate about the economic order of the Netherlands. The two main governing parties of the time, the catholic KVP and the social-democratic PvdA had differing opinions on the subject. Both wanted to prevent the repetition of the economic crisis of the 1930s. The social-democrats wanted to give the government a large role in the economy, while the catholics wanted the economy to regulate itself. A compromise was found in the corporatist model, in which both trade unions and employers' organizations would form sector-based regulatory organizations. The SER headed this structure and served as important partner for the national government. These SER was very important in the reconstruction of the Netherlands after the Second World War.

In the 1950s and 60s the SER was particularly successful in ensuring economic growth by close cooperation between government, trade unions and employers' organizations. In the 1970s because of rising political polarization and the oil crises the SER was unable to resolve economic problems. In the 1980s the SER returned to the centre of the economic policy making, as it was the platform for dialogue between the government and its social partners. In the 1990s the role of the SER began to change. The role of the sector-based regulatory organizations began to decline and the SER more and more toke the role of advisory council of government, In 1997 the Eerste and Tweede Kamer were granted the right to ask questions to the SER.

Goals

The SER has three main goals for the Dutch social-ecnomic policy:

Balanced and sustainable economic growth;

Maximal participation of all Dutch citizens in the labour market;

Fair income distribution.

Organization

The SER has thirty-three members. It consists out of three sections, which all have eleven members in the council. These sections are trade unions, employers' organizations and government appointed members, the so-called Crown members. The trade union-members are divided over the three major unions: FNV (8), CNV (2) and the MHP (1).

The members of the employers' organizations are divided over the three major employers' organizations: VNO-NCW (7), MKB (2) and the LTO (1). The government appointed members are professors of economy or related fields and they include representatives of the economic planning agency CPB and the central bank DNB. The board of the SER is formed by four members of each section. The chair of the organization is always a government appointee.

The SER heads and overlooks the system of sector-based regulatory organizations. These organizations can like other governments, provinces, water boards etc. it can enforce legislation over its members, in this case companies. The SER is financed out of levy which all companies pay to the chambers of commerce. It spends €14 million a year.

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