Minister Carola Schouten (centre) with Commissioner Bruce Zagers (left) and Island Secretary Tim Muller.
SABA/THE HAGUE--The Saba delegation during its working visit to The Hague had a constructive meeting with Minister for Poverty Policy Carola Schouten.
Discussed was poverty alleviation, one of the focal areas of both the Dutch government and the public entity Saba. The Saba delegation, headed by Commissioner Bruce Zagers, emphasized the need to implement the social minimum, which will aid in combating poverty.
Another topic that was discussed was the allocation of 5 million euros of the Dutch government to compensate for the increased energy prices in the Caribbean Netherlands. This funding will mainly go towards compensating low-income households.
The Saba delegation brought forward the need to introduce an unemployment allowance, a temporary income for people who are between jobs. The Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour SZW is looking into this. The Ministry is also assessing the possibilities for assistance for people with a distance to the labour market. The importance of a good collaboration between the Ministry of SZW and the public entity Saba was discussed as well.
