Council bill for jobless aldermen tops €126m in five years

Dutch local councils have spent €126m over the past five years on special unemployment benefits for former aldermen, according to research by current affairs show EenVandaag. In total, 1,500 aldermen received the civil service benefit known as wachtgeld after losing their jobs when councils changed political colour or because they were not reappointed. Lelystad, with a total bill of €1.8m, topped the list of big payers, the research, involving 297 councils, found. In 10 local authority areas no benefits were...