◆1 source
Annemarie van Gaal said workers should be valued rather than treated as a resource to be fully exploited. She referred to a claim in De Telegraaf that the staff shortage in the Netherlands could be solved and prosperity could increase by €35 billion a year if all part-time workers worked two additional hours per week.
2 sources
Annemarie van Gaal said that Dutch people who are able to work should be put to work before companies recruit migrant workers from other countries. She made the comments as fewer Poles are coming to the Netherlands for work. She argued that this would reduce the need for migrant workers and ease the additional pressure on the housing market.
Tax, Benefits & Cost of Living
1 source
Annemarie van Gaal criticised the government’s approach to high cigarette prices, saying the government wanted to discourage smoking but that high prices would not stop heavily addicted smokers. She said the prices were instead driving people to buy cigarettes abroad. According to customs, about 45% of the cigarettes smoked in the country were not bought there.