Educators will receive a pay rise next year. The Cabinet will be able to give them the rise because the State has received €4.3 billion more than budgeted this year.

Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the Minister for Finance, announced the windfall this afternoon. Since the economy is improving, both citizens and businesses have paid more tax and social security premiums in 2016. In addition, the government earned €1.3 billion by selling ABN Amro.

Increased employee pension contributions

The Cabinet intends to use some of the money, €330 million, to increase the salaries of civil servants, teachers, police officers and members of the armed forces. The pay rises are considered compensation for Dutch employee pension contributions, which will go up by 2.3 percent next year.

Prime Minister Mark Rutte does not know whether employees working in other sectors will be treated to similar pay rises. “That is up to their own employers,” he said today in his weekly press conference.