International

Companies provided with government support during the COVID-crisis should not be paying bonuses. If they still do, they must be excluded from any future support payed for by taxpayers. That is the proposition that SP-representative Mahir Alkaya will be making during the 'accountability debate' held today in the house of representatives.
Alkaya: 'We see it happening at Booking.com, we see it at KLM; moneygrubbing directors who, despite their business accepting billions in COVID-related government support, are still receiving millions in bonuses. Because many major CEOs lack a moral compass, it befalls the government to set a clear course here. Companies who's directors get bonuses while receiving taxpayer money, as far as I'm concerned, will be excluded from future support measures, will not be invited along on trade missions, and will not be receiving financing from the national growth fund any longer. If the cabinet only keeps barking at these CEOs, but never bites, then the SP will.'

Request corona aid, but then use it to pay out a fat bonus? Booking.com wanted to abuse the corona aid they received from the government to pay 28 million in bonuses. Under heavy pressure, Booking.com will now be repaying the 65 million corona aid to the government. 'Very rightly so', says SP Member of Parliament Bart van Kent. 'We have campaigned strongly against this abuse of corona aid, and our proposal to have Booking.com pay it back has received the support of an overwhelming majority in the House of Representatives.' Booking.com has now succumbed to the pressure.

In the past decades, hundreds of thousands of people in the military have had to work with hazardous substances without protection. As a result, many of them are currently seriously ill or deceased. 'Chromium-6' is a well-known example, but the military works with 5000 hazardous substances, of which no fewer than 500 are carcinogenic. For years, employees and their relatives have been engaged in a political and legal battle against the government: for recognition and fair treatment, yet they have been opposed at every turn. The RIVM, on monday, released a report on working with toxic substances, which shows that many more people have been exposed to the substances. At the same time the cabinet announced what the compensation scheme for victims should look like.

The Dutch fire department is under great pressure. The fire department increasingly has to turn out with fewer people or with less equipment. European plans to limit volunteerism in the fire service are now also threatening a large exodus among volunteers. As far as the SP is concerned, we will not let that happen. 

Last week the European Parliament approved a resolution to tackle the AIDS epidemic which includes a Left demand for waiving intellectual property rights on COVID-19 vaccines. This makes production and distribution of these badly needed medicines cheaper and easier. 

There is a structural cause that causes the violence in the region to flare up regularly. It is rooted in the occupation policy that Israel has been pursuing for decades.

On Monday April 26th the ‘Kobani-trial’ started against 108 members of the HDP, a party representing approximately 10% of the electorate in Turkey. Amongst the politicians on trial are the former co-chairs of the HDP, Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yuksekdag, who have been incarcerated for years by the Turkish authorities based on a false claim of being involved in terrorist actions. The Kobani-trial is a political trial in which HDP-politicians face absurdly high prison sentences, with the purpose to squash the Kurdish and leftist opposition. For that reason the trial receives harsh criticism throughout the world. 

In a statement the SP expresses its solidarity with the staff and readers of progressive Indian news site News Click, who’ve felt victim to increased intimidation by the far-right Indian Government. 

Parents need to get a better chance to share the care for their new-born child more equally. That is why the SP successfully proposed extending the partner leave. The parliament now agrees with the SP that the partner leave should be extended to twelve weeks.