CNV Youth
CNV Youth: An independent youth trade union
CNV Youth is linked to the CNV but an independent organisation. We determine our own policies and plans of action together with our members. We are a member organisation and have a support base of over 1300 members. CNV Youth is not a traditional trade union: we do not negotiate collective labour agreements, nor do we represent specific sectors. Instead we focus on a specific target group, namely young people. We have 11 paid employees and approximately 50 active volunteers.
Our mission statement: We work to strengthen the position of young people (age 13-27) regarding education, work and income. We focus on young people in general, and more specifically we stand up for the rights of our members and young people in disadvantaged situations.
Our activities can be grouped into three categories: social action, individual support and solidarity projects.
Social Action
As a Youth trade union we keep a close eye on everything that concerns young people, their work and income. We campaign for equal opportunities in the labour market for all young people, regardless of race, religion or social background.
Individual Support
We offer free support to all our members via the support desk. Members can ask questions regarding contracts, minimum wages, tax returns and more. We also offer advice on young people’s CVs and letters of application. Members can reach the support desk by phone, email or by completing a form on our website.
Solidarity Projects
We have various projects to support groups of young people who have a disadvantaged position on the labour market. These projects are often thought out and executed by the participants themselves. Genuine participation is very important for us and legitimises our work. For example, we assist disabled youngsters in their job searches and also help unemployed young people by offering training in various fields.
Background information on the Netherlands
Currently there are approximately 93,000 young people unemployed, which is 11.5% of the total professional population in the ages 15 to 25. For the complete professional population (i.e. 15 to 65) unemployment is lower at 6%.
Young people from ages 13 years onwards are allowed to have informal jobs. We have minimum wages from age 15 onwards. We are still lobbying for a statutory minimum wage for youngsters aged 13 and 14 years old.
The Netherlands has compulsory education for people up to 16 years of age, and partial compulsory education for ages 16 to 18. Our educational system is divided into three levels: primary, secondary and tertiary.
It includes the following types of education:
- Primary education for children aged 4 to 12
- Secondary education for children aged between 12 and 18
This level is divided into three levels:
• VMBO: preparatory intermediary vocational education (12-16)
• Havo: senior general secondary education (12-17)
• VWO: pre-university education (12-18)
- Tertiary education
• MBO: intermediary vocational education (accessible after completing vmbo)
• HBO: higher professional education (accessible after completing Havo or mbo)
• University: accessible after completing VWO or HBO