10-26-2006, 11:39 PM
During my glorious year in the Dutch army (no enemy dared to attack our border when I was on guard), I was member of a union. The point to know is (a) that the unions only have civil tasks and (b) that Dutch trade unions are bit strange.
(a) The military trade unions agree that during a military operation, they have no tasks at all. In peace time, however, they have a strong vote in negotiating wages et cetera. One of the issues in my year was the moment on which the weekend leave started and ended; many conscripts preferred to spend the Friday evening in their home towns, and leave it on Monday morning. Today, we no longer have an army of conscripts but of professionals; one of the main issues now is being send abroad when you've become a father or mother.
(b) There are about four European styles of leadership. The German model, in which the leader is the man who knows the job best; the French model, in which the boss is almost God impersonated; the Anglo-Saxon model, in which leadership is some sort of specialism (called management); and the Dutch model, in which the boss's task is to create consensus. A trade union, in this model, is not the opposite of the boss, but his ally. Unfortunately, the Dutch model is gradually being replaced by the Anglo-Saxon one, which gives many people a feeling their voices are no longer heard. This creates growing feelings of uneasiness.
So much for your introductory course Dutch Society. :wink:
(a) The military trade unions agree that during a military operation, they have no tasks at all. In peace time, however, they have a strong vote in negotiating wages et cetera. One of the issues in my year was the moment on which the weekend leave started and ended; many conscripts preferred to spend the Friday evening in their home towns, and leave it on Monday morning. Today, we no longer have an army of conscripts but of professionals; one of the main issues now is being send abroad when you've become a father or mother.
(b) There are about four European styles of leadership. The German model, in which the leader is the man who knows the job best; the French model, in which the boss is almost God impersonated; the Anglo-Saxon model, in which leadership is some sort of specialism (called management); and the Dutch model, in which the boss's task is to create consensus. A trade union, in this model, is not the opposite of the boss, but his ally. Unfortunately, the Dutch model is gradually being replaced by the Anglo-Saxon one, which gives many people a feeling their voices are no longer heard. This creates growing feelings of uneasiness.
So much for your introductory course Dutch Society. :wink:
