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The Committee takes note of the information supplied by the Government in its report and in the 29th report on the application of the European Code of Social Security and its Protocol. It is also aware of the publication of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment, which contains a brief analysis of social security in the Netherlands. The Committee would appreciate receiving additional information on the following points:

1. Article 6 of the Convention. The Committee notes that under section 18, paragraph 1 of the Disablement Benefit Act (WAO), as amended by the Acts of 26 February 1992 and 7 July 1993, a person is considered to be either totally or partially disabled if, as a direct result of illness or infirmity objectively and medically established, he/she is either totally or partially unable to earn, through work, what a healthy person with similar training and experience normally earns through work at the place where he/she performs or last performed work, or in the surrounding area. In addition, paragraph 5 of the same section states that the term "work" is understood to mean all generally accepted work which the worker is in a position to perform by virtue of his/her strengths and abilities. The Committee would like the Government to provide details of how section 18 of the WAO is applied in practice and to supply the text of any regulatory or administrative provisions defining its scope.

2. Article 14 (in conjunction with Articles 19 or 20). The Committee notes that, except in the case where the transitional provisions apply, the disability benefit which takes into consideration the degree of incapacity is provided in two phases. In the first phase the benefit depends on the beneficiary's former wage, as under the former legislation. But the duration of the provision of the benefit during this first phase will depend on the worker's age at the onset of the contingency and will vary by six months to six years, it being understood that workers under 33 years of age at the onset of the contingency are not entitled to this initial benefit. Upon expiry of this first phase, the beneficiary is entitled to an amount equivalent to the minimum wage plus an additional amount which will be equal to 2 per cent of the difference between the beneficiary's last wage and the minimum wage multiplied by the number of years between age 15 and the age of the beneficiary at the onset of the contingency. The benefit will be paid up to the age of 65 years.

The Committee would like the Government to provide statistical information, as required by the report form, on the level of benefits provided in the event of permanent disability, particularly with regard to benefits paid during the second phase. The Committee recalls in this connection that the level of employment injury benefit and sickness benefit prescribed by the Code, as amended by the Protocol, in the event of total loss of earning capacity (60 per cent of the reference wage) must be attained independently of any waiting period before the incapacity (Article 9, paragraph 2) and regardless of the beneficiary's age at the onset of the contingency.

3. Article 6(d) and Article 18. The Committee notes that, according to a publication of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment sent by the Government, a new system of survivors benefit (Act on General Survivors) entered into force on 1 July 1996. The Committee would like the Government to provide with its next report detailed information on the implementation of this reform in the light of the pertinent provisions of the Convention, specifying, in particular, the manner in which are defined all the circumstances of resources which could affect the entitlement to survivors' benefits.

4. Article 21, paragraph 1. The Committee notes that, according to the Act on the indexation of minimum wages and allowances (WKA), which came into force on 1 January 1992, indexation may be suspended in cases where circumstances so require. It noted the Government's statement that, as from 1 January 1996, social security benefits will, as in the past, once again be fully adjusted to the wage index. The Committee would like the Government to indicate in its next report whether the indexation of benefits has been re-established as from 1 January 1996, in accordance with the Government's earlier assurances and to supply statistics as required by the report form under Article 21 of the Convention, for the reference period and, if possible, as from 1 January 1996.

5. Lastly, the Committee notes that in the last few years, there have been very many amendments of the social security legislation. In order to facilitate its examination of these reforms, the Committee would like the Government to provide the consolidated texts in Dutch - incorporating all amendments of the various social security laws in force in the Netherlands, when such a consolidation exists.