Farewell lecture by Guus Heerma van Voss: ‘Labour rights have fallen from grace’
Guus Heerma van Voss, professor emeritus of labour law, delivered his farewell lecture on 18 October and held a mirror up to his colleagues and himself. Had they done enough to ensure the welfare state keeps up with the times? ‘Did we just stand by and watch?’
At present, Guus Heerma van Voss only works at the Council of State in The Hague, where he sits at a large desk in a grand, spacious room with law books and files spread out before him. Boxes of books from his old office in the Kamerlingh Onnes Gebouw (KOG) are piled up against a wall. He was asked to give up his workspace in Leiden as he was there so little in recent years. And now it was time for his farewell lecture on 18 October 2024 to mark the end of his time at Leiden University. During this final lecture, he reflected on his long career at Leiden Law School.
Faculty modernisation
He joined the Institute of Public Law at Leiden Law School, which at the time had offices spread across various locations in Leiden, almost three decades ago, in 1997. The separate departments had little contact with each other and were not very aware of the research being conducted across the other departments, which sometimes led to misunderstandings. Later, the Meijers Institute was established and the Executive Board decided that a modernisation process was required, both in terms of its housing and its way of working. Quite rightly, says Heerma van Voss: ‘There was a tendency to bask in our former glory.’
Being an expert in social law and labour law, Heerma van Voss was a logical choice as the Director of Public Law to manage the part of the reorganisation that coincided with the widely-discussed move to the KOG building in 2004. Looking back, it was a difficult time. The ‘islands’ that had existed within the Institute now had to come together. The following decades saw a period of further expansion within the faculty.
Labour law's fall from grace
In the same period, many changes also took place in the area of social legislation – his own particular professional field and specialism. In his farewell lecture on Friday 18 October, he referred to these developments as ‘labour law’s fall from grace’, reflecting on current issues such as the extreme flexibilisation apparent in the job market, the intricate system of allowances and the exceptionally complex legislation that results from politicians’ reluctance to make clear decisions.
By criticising others, I'm also criticising myself
Those who have become acquainted with Heerma van Voss over the years, know that he’s not averse to speaking out. On Friday, he seized the opportunity to hold a mirror up to his colleagues. What had become of the welfare system that seemed so comprehensive when they started out on their careers in academia? He didn’t shy away from reflecting on his own role either: ‘By criticising others, I’m also criticising myself.’
Less talk, more action
Heerma van Voss believes that his generation has done too little to take care of the welfare system. Society has undergone major changes since the 1960s. Labour law has responded to these changes, but only to a limited extent. The emergence of uncertain employment relationships, bogus self-employment, labour migration: labour lawyers stood by and watched as the excesses unfolded. They discussed these issues and gave courses on the minor legislative amendments, but no solution for the structural problems was forthcoming. Instead, he and his colleagues stuck to what he’d already witnessed when he was a student – a tendency to focus more on the details and hold discussions within the confines of the academic world.
Dutch Council of State
The consequences of this behaviour are now becoming clear: citizens who have difficulty reading and understanding legislation that seems to have reached the limits of how it can be enforced in practice. The problem is now returning to him like a boomerang in his work at the Council of State, where he has been advising on legislative proposals since 2012. In recent years, he has noticed that the Tax Authorities, the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV) and the Social Insurance Bank (SVB) have become bogged down in the increasingly complex legislation. ‘Politicians introduce exceptions and transitional schemes in response to pressure from their voter base. Major decisions that would help simplify matters are avoided. Sometimes, it seems like labour law has become a discipline that remains the sole preserve of the experts. The specialists are the only ones who can make head or tail of it.’
Labour law has become a discipline that remains the sole preserve of the experts
So, what has the impact of labour law actually been? ‘It’s brought many good things, absolutely. But we – myself included – have also come up short in certain areas.’
Blinkered
Looking back, Heerma van Voss believes that those responsible were blinkered when it came to these developments. Not only citizens, but government authorities also lost their way in the maze of institutions and divided responsibilities. So what’s needed? ‘The disciplines of social law and labour law should focus more on critical analysis and exposing the structural problems.’
Abolishing allowances
Although this occasion marked his farewell, looking to the future Heerma van Voss outlined his vision for the modernisation of social law and labour law in the 21st century. There should be no distinction between the consequences of permanent and flexible employment relationships. The allowances system should be abolished, and replaced with a universal higher minimum wage. We also need clearer, simpler legislation, with improved monitoring and enforcement of labour legislation. These are highly topical issues to focus on in the public debate. Other things to consider are mandatory invalidity insurance and some form of mandatory pension accrual for all workers, including the self-employed.
It might seem that after 40 years of teaching labour law at various universities, the glass is one-quarter full and three-quarters empty. But Heerma van Voss stresses that there were also ‘golden years’.
Jan-Willem Oomen