WILLEMSTAD - The MFK party is the only faction in Parliament that does not oppose raising the holiday allowance for ministers and Members of Parliament from six to eight percent. This emerges from the Central Committee’s report on the draft national ordinance proposing the increase.
All other parties — MAN-PIN, PAR and PNP — firmly reject any raise for sitting political officeholders, even though they support the measure for civil servants.
Because MFK holds an absolute majority, its stance will ultimately determine whether the proposal passes.
Nearly 9 Million Guilders in Additional Costs
Financial documents attached to the bill show that raising the allowance to eight percent would cost the government nearly 9 million guilders extra in 2025.
The largest increase concerns civil servants and equivalent employees. Their holiday bonus would rise from 18.5 million guilders at six percent to 24.6 million guilders at eight percent — an increase of 6.1 million.
In special education, the cost would increase from 7.7 million to 10.2 million guilders, adding 2.5 million more.
The increase for political officeholders is relatively small in absolute terms but highly sensitive politically.
For ministers: costs rise from nearly 500,000 guilders at six percent to 600,000 at eight percent (+150,000).
For MPs: expenses increase from 80,000 to 110,000 guilders (+30,000).
Opposition: “Morally Unacceptable”
Opposition parties say it is morally unacceptable for politicians to raise their own holiday allowance at a time when many households face reduced purchasing power, high inflation and no indexation of the AOV pension.
They insist that any increase for ministers and MPs should only take effect after the current parliamentary term, preventing sitting officials from financially benefiting themselves.
All factions support the increase for civil servants, pointing to regional alignment, the need to retain qualified staff and the rising cost of living.
The government must now respond in writing to the questions and objections before the draft law is debated publicly in Parliament.
