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DUTCH WORK LUNACY THREATENS HUMAN RIGHTS
Louis van Overbeek - 09.07.2006 17:05
The focus on the importance of work has become so strong in Dutch politics of the last decade that one can only speak of an obsession, a kind of madness that by now threatens humans rights.
DUTCH WORK LUNACY THREATENS HUMAN RIGHTS
When Wim Kok became prime minister of the Netherlands in 1994 his slogan was 'Work, work and even more work'. Unemployment was declared the greatest curse of the country and everything had to be done to create jobs. In addition women had to make career.
This focus on the importance of work had lasted for almost ten years when the Netherlands - already more industrious than an ant-hill by now - came under the sway of Jan Peter Balkenende and his neo conservative friends and the pressure in the highly workaholic atmosphere was still further put up by their wish to reform the Dutch welfare state in an almost revolutionary way and to cut deeply in the expenses for social security.
Now the obsession with work became complete: people dependent on social assistance had to reintegrate in the job market henceforth, no matter how little their chances to find work. If they were not able to find a real job they were forced to hoe up weeds in the parks of their hometown or to assort coat hangers, something not even prisoners had to do. At the same time the concept 'fitting work' was eliminated from government rules: in the future all work should be considered to be fitting for everyone. In every possible way it was made quite clear that from now on no one would be permitted to live in the Netherlands without being productive somehow. That consequently human rights were violated did not bother anyone. Lawyers kept their mouth.
Those incapable of work were subjected to a medical examination on the basis of new criteria, found suitable for work, and partially or completely bereft of their income. They had to sell their homes and to face the gutter. Almost none of the doctors who were charged with these 'examinations' had the courage to defend medical ethics. The trade unions agreed. The media kept silent, as well as the general public. Solidarity did not exist any more. This was the land of 'Iron Rita' and the pride of nazi laws on euthanasia.
A few days ago some officials in the province of Friesland declared that the patients in their local lunatic asylum from now on would be forced to work. At the same moment Jan Peter Balkenende introduced a new slogan: 'Holland works'. The only possible further step on this path of work related madness that still can be made is to force the deceased to reintegrate in the job market.
 E-Mail: loverbeek22319@hotmail.com
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| Read more about: vrijheid, repressie & mensenrechten | | supplements | | What a nerve | nana - 09.07.2006 19:27
What a nerve, let women have careers, all was better when they were kept barefoot and pregnant, chained to the kitchen sink.
The Netherlands have the lowest rate of female participation in the workforce of the entire EU, and the number of full time employed women, which means financially independant from their partners, is alarmingly low.
When talking about infractions of human rights one of the first steps should be equal access to employment and womens rights to independance. It is easy to criticise the focus on employment without considering employability, but gender is no handicap where employability is conserned.
Of course the Balkenende gouvernment made it more difficult for women to get and hold down a job, by stripping wellfare and keeping childcare rediculously expensive. Disencouraging women of persuing financial independance is not a sollution for the social disaster caused by the last two governments and neither is a demeaning attitude towards female employment.
The mechanisms that deny or limit womens access to employment are in the mean time being used as an excuse to force people with actual limitations in employability into the jobmarket and fake employment. It only serves the interests of those who are deregulating the jobmarket to devide the workforce along gender lines (or any other sort of criteria).
If one really wants to make a change respecting the rights of all humans, even females, one has to start at the beginning, every human being has the right to provide for themselves and deploy their talents. They have the right to persue that through either employment or otherwise. Gender, etnicity or handicap should not be used as a means of discrimination either way.
| | Neither men nor women should be convicts | Louis - 09.07.2006 20:57
I don't think an obligation to work for women is a real contribution to their rights. No more than it is for convicts. Let them choose!
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