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The Social and Economic Council (Dutch: Sociaal-Economische Raad, SER) is a major economic advisory council to the cabinet of the Netherlands. Formally it heads a system of sector-based regulatory organisations. It represents the social partners trade unions and employers' organisations. It forms the core organisation of the corporatist and social market economy known as the polder model and the main platform for social dialogue.

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 People's Party (KVP) and the Labour Party (PvdA) had differing opinions on the subject. Both wanted to prevent the repetition of the Great Depression. The Labour Party preferred to grant the government an important regulatory role in the economy, while the KVP preferred to rely on the workings of a self-regulating market economy. A compromise was found in the corporatist model, in which both trade unions and employers' organisations would form sector-based regulatory organisations. The SER headed this structure and served as important partner for the national government. The SER was very important in the reconstruction of the Netherlands after the World War II.

In the 1950s and 60s, the SER was particularly successful in ensuring economic growth through close cooperation between government, trade unions and employers' organisations. In the 1970s, because of rising political polarisation and the 1973 oil crisis, 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 organisations began to decline and the SER increasingly took the role of an advisory council of government; in 1997 the Senate and House of Representatives were granted the right to submit enquiry commissions to the SER.

Goals

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

Organisation

SER headquarters, The Hague

The SER has thirty-three members. It consists of three sections, which each have eleven members in the council. These sections are trade unions, employers' organisations and government-appointed members, the so-called Crown members. The trade union members are appointed from the three major unions: FNV (8), CNV (2) and the MHP (1). The members of the employers' organisations are representatives from the three major employers' organisations: VNO-NCW (7), MKB (3) and the LTO (1). The government-appointed members are normally professors of economics or related fields and they include representatives of the Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (CPB) and the central bank, De Nederlandsche Bank. The board of the SER is formed by four members of each section. The chair of the organisation is always a government appointee.

The SER heads and oversees the system of sector-based regulatory organisations. These organisations can like other governments, provinces, water boards etc. enforce legislation[example needed] for their members, in this case companies. The SER is financed by levies which companies pay to the chambers of commerce. It spends €14 million a year.

Activities

The group has negotiated among other things, agreements in the textile sector, the banking sector and the gold sector. The SER also performs legal and administrative tasks. For example in the field of employee participation, healthy and safe working, employment inspections and pensions.[clarification needed]

List of chairs of the Social and Economic Council

Portrait Name Term of office Previous experience Party
Frans de Vries Dr.
Frans de Vries
(1884–1958) 		1 June 1950 –
15 June 1958
(8 years, 14 days)
[Died] 		Professor of Economics at the Erasmus University Rotterdam
(1918–1945)
Rector Magnificus of the Erasmus University Rotterdam
(1921–1922, 1928–1929, 1935–1936)
Professor of Economics at the University of Amsterdam
(1945–1954) 		Independent
Vacant
15 June 1958 – 1 July 1958
Gerard Verrijn Stuart Dr.
Gerard Verrijn Stuart
(1893–1969) 		1 July 1958 –
1 May 1964
(5 years, 305 days) 		Professor of Economics at the University of Amsterdam
(1952–1962) 		Independent
Jan de Pous Jan de Pous
(1920–1996) 		1 May 1964 –
1 February 1985
(20 years, 276 days) 		Minister of Economic Affairs
(1959–1963)
Member of the Council of State
(1958–1959) 		Christian Historical Union
(1964–1980)
Christian Democratic Appeal
(1980–1985)
Theo Quené Dr.
Theo Quené
(1930–2011) 		1 February 1985 –
1 January 1996
(10 years, 334 days) 		Director of the Scientific Council for Government Policy
(1978–1985) 		Labour Party
Klaas de Vries Klaas de Vries
(born 1943) 		1 January 1996 –
3 August 1998
(2 years, 214 days)
[Res] [Note] 		Member of the House of Representatives
(1973–1988) 		Labour Party
Vacant
3 August 1998 – 1 January 1999
Herman Wijffels Dr.
Herman Wijffels
(born 1942) 		1 January 1999 –
1 April 2006
(7 years, 90 days) 		CEO and Chairman of the Rabobank
(1986–1999) 		Christian Democratic Appeal
Alexander Rinnooy Kan Dr.
Alexander Rinnooy Kan
(born 1949) 		1 April 2006 –
1 September 2012
(6 years, 164 days) 		Member of the Social and Economic Council
(1991–1996)
Chairman of VNO-NCW
(1991–1996) 		Democrats 66
Wiebe Draijer Wiebe Draijer
(born 1965) 		1 September 2012 –
10 September 2014
(2 years, 9 days)
[Res] [Note] 		CEO and Chairman of the McKinsey & Company Netherlands
(2003–2012) 		Independent
Mariëtte Hamer Mariëtte Hamer
(born 1958) 		10 September 2014 –
1 April 2022
(7 years, 203 days) 		Member of the House of Representatives
(1998–2014) 		Labour Party
Vacant
1 April 2022 – 16 September 2022
Kim Putters Kim Putters
(born 1973) 		16 September 2022 –
Incumbent
(1 year, 219 days) 		Member of the Senate
(2003–2013)
Chairman of The Netherlands Institute for Social Research
(2013–2022) 		Labour Party
Resigned
Died in office
Resigned when he was appointed as Minister of Social Affairs and Employment in the Second Kok cabinet
Resigned when he was appointed as CEO and Chairman of the Rabobank

Current Members of the Social and Economic Council

Appointed Members of the Social and Economic Council

Appointed Members
Member Appointed Other function(s) Member Appointed Other function(s)
Mariëtte Hamer Mariëtte Hamer
(born 1958)
[Chairwoman] 		10 September 2014
(9 years, 225 days) 		Dr.
Pieter Hasekamp
(born 1965) 		1 March 2020
(4 years, 52 days) 		Director of the
Bureau for Economic
Policy Analysis
Luce van Kempen
(born 1995) 		1 April 2020
(4 years, 21 days) 		Chairwoman of
the Youth Council 		Dr.
Romke van der Veen
(born 1958) 		1 April 2012
(12 years, 21 days) 		Professor of Social and
Behavioral Sciences
Erasmus University Rotterdam
Dr.
Evert Verhulp
(born 1960) 		1 April 2012
(12 years, 21 days) 		Professor of Labour Law
University of Amsterdam 		Kim Putters Dr.
Kim Putters
(born 1973) 		1 February 2017
(7 years, 81 days) 		Professor of Healthcare
Management
Erasmus University Rotterdam

Director of the Institute
for Social Research
Ed Nijpels Ed Nijpels
(born 1950) 		15 August 2014
(9 years, 251 days) 		Chairman of the
Climate Council

Chairman of the
Environment Central
Foundation 		Dr.
Geert ten Dam
(born 1958) 		10 December 2015
(8 years, 134 days) 		Professor of Pedagogy
Free University Amsterdam

President of the Council
of the University of Amsterdam
Dr.
Maarten Lindeboom
(born 1960) 		1 September 2018
(5 years, 234 days) 		Professor of Economics
Free University Amsterdam 		Femke Laagland
(born 1979) 		1 July 2020
(5 years, 234 days) 		Professor of Labour Law
Radboud University Nijmegen
Dr.
Olaf Sleijpen
(born 1975) 		1 April 2020
(4 years, 21 days) 		Chief Financial Officer
De Nederlandsche Bank
Chairwoman

Trade associations Members of the Social and Economic Council

Trade Associations Members
Member Appointed Represents Member Appointed Represents
Hans de Boer Hans de Boer
(born 1955)
[Vice Chairman] 		1 July 2014
(9 years, 326 days) 		Industry and Employers
Confederation 		Jacco Vonhof
(born 1970) 		1 August 2018
(9 years, 265 days) 		Small and Medium-
Sized Association
Patricia Hoogstraaten
(born 1959) 		1 May 2006
(17 years, 357 days) 		Retail
Association 		Guido van Woerkom Guido van Woerkom
(born 1955) 		1 October 2013
(10 years, 204 days) 		Travelers
Association
Chris Buijink
(born 1954) 		1 June 2013
(10 years, 326 days) 		Banking
Association 		Dirk Beljaarts
(born 1978) 		1 January 2019
(5 years, 112 days) 		Hospitality
Association
Fried Kaanen
(born 1955) 		1 April 2017
(7 years, 21 days) 		Manufacturing
Association 		Niels Louwaars
(born 1958) 		10 December 2019
(4 years, 134 days) 		Horticulture
Association
Roderik Pape
(born 1969) 		1 April 2020
(4 years, 21 days) 		Freelancers
Association 		Hans van Waayenburg
(born 1957) 		15 February 2019
(5 years, 67 days) 		CEO of
Capgemini Netherlands
Deputy Trade Associations Members
Member Appointed Represents Member Appointed Represents
Ineke Dezentjé Hamming-Bluemink Ineke Dezentjé
Hamming-Bluemink
(born 1954) 		1 January 2012
(12 years, 112 days) 		Technology Industry
Association 		Henk Kamp Henk Kamp
(born 1952) 		1 February 2018
(6 years, 81 days) 		Healthcare Providers
Association
Ad Melkert Ad Melkert
(born 1956) 		1 April 2019
(5 years, 21 days) 		Hospitals
Association 		Maxime Verhagen Maxime Verhagen
(born 1956) 		1 October 2015
(8 years, 204 days) 		Construction
Association
Richard Weurding
(born 1961) 		1 April 2006
(18 years, 21 days) 		Insurance
Association 		Leendert-Jan Visser
(born 1971) 		1 April 2020
(4 years, 21 days) 		Small and Medium-
Sized Association
Elisabeth Post
(born 1965) 		1 June 2019
(4 years, 326 days) 		Transport
Association 		Henk den Boer
(born 1963) 		1 April 2020
(4 years, 21 days) 		Maintenance
Association
Vice Chairman by Ex officio as Chairman of the Industry and Employers confederation

Trade union Members of the Social and Economic Council

Trade union Members
Member Appointed Represents Member Appointed Represents
Han Busker Han Busker
(born 1955)
[Vice Chairman] 		1 May 2016
(7 years, 357 days) 		Federation of Trade Unions Willem Jelle Berg
(born 1969) 		1 April 2014
(10 years, 21 days) 		National Federation of
Christian Trade Unions
Nic van Holstein
(born 1963) 		1 September 2015
(8 years, 220 days) 		Trade Union of
Professionals 		Gerrit van de Kamp
(born 1964) 		1 April 2019
(5 years, 21 days) 		Police Trade Union
Jan de Jong
(born 1955) 		1 August 2016
(7 years, 265 days) 		Federation of Trade
Unions for Seniors 		Bas van Weegberg
(born 1996) 		1 Juli 2019
(4 years, 296 days) 		Federation of Trade
Unions for Youth
Arend van Wijngaarden
(born 1954) 		1 November 2012
(11 years, 173 days) 		National Federation of
Christian Trade Unions 		Zakaria Boufangacha
(born 1973) 		1 July 2017
(7 years, 357 days) 		Federation of Trade Unions
Tuur Elzinga
(born 1965) 		1 July 2017
(6 years, 326 days) 		Federation of Trade Unions Kitty Jong
(born 1961) 		1 July 2017
(6 years, 326 days) 		Federation of Trade Unions
Judy Hoffer
(born 1970) 		1 March 2019
(5 years, 52 days) 		Federation of Trade Unions
Vice Chairman by Ex officio as Chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions

See also

External links

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