While the COVID-19 pandemic requires new medical and social innovations, it also draws attention to some of the long-standing challenges in innovation policy. Universal health care coverage and paid sick leave, for instance, benefit everyone: the former by reducing financial barriers to testing, and the latter by making it easier for ill workers to self-isolate. Between sending non-essential public workers home on March 13 and shutting down a large part of the private sector on March 18, the government consulted with employers’ associations and trade unions. By presenting a united front and sharing responsibility for the lockdown, this inclusive approach made it easier for the government to take bold action and secure public support.
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For more information, please contact Paul de Beer or Oana Ciuca or Sjaak van der Velden, De Burcht (Scientific Bureau for the Dutch Trade Union Movement) p.t.debeer@uva.nl or the Head of communications at the ETUI, Mehmet Koksal mkoksal@etui.org.
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