Open letter to minister Van Engelshoven: think of the student!

Together with the CDJA (the CDA's youth organisation), DWARS (GroenLinks), the Young Democrats (D66), the Young Socialists (PvdA) and PerspectieF (Christian Union), DWARS is writing an open letter to minister van Engelshoven.

Youth organisations from various political parties are calling on the government to take a number of measures to accommodate young people. These include postponing the payment of tuition fees and fees and compensating for additional debts incurred during the corona crisis. Indeed, students are in trouble precisely now, as they are the first to lose income.

Young people often work on 0-hour contracts or as temporary workers. It is easy for companies to greatly reduce the number of working hours or even dismiss them. Many young people are not yet entitled to welfare or unemployment, while their fixed expenses remain the same. In addition, students still pay tuition or fees for education, while lectures no longer take place in physical form.

Together with the other political youth organisations, we propose four measures that could limit the damage:

• Allow young people to defer payment of college or tuition fees;
• Explicitly inform young people who lose their jobs or internships of their rights. They often do not know them;
• Engage with employer & employee organisations to find additional solutions for young people at risk of losing their jobs or internships;
• After the corona crisis, look at the extra debt incurred and how to offset it

Curious about the full letter to the minister? You can read it here.