# The Wassenaar Agreement (24 November 1982)

URL: https://allhistories.com/netherlands/timeline/1982-the-wassenaar-agreement
Themes: main-event

On 24 November 1982, amid economic crisis and high unemployment, employers and trade unions signed the Wassenaar Agreement at the home of the employers' leader Chris van Veen in Wassenaar. Unions accepted wage restraint in return for shorter working hours and job creation. The agreement became the symbol of the Dutch 'polder model' of consensus between government, employers and unions, credited with the 'Dutch miracle' of job growth in the 1990s. The Wassenaar Agreement defined the Dutch approach to economic policy for a generation.

## Why it matters
The Wassenaar Agreement defined the Dutch approach to economic policy for a generation.

Who Was in Power: [Beatrix](https://allhistories.com/netherlands/rulers/beatrix)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Wassenaar Agreement](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wassenaar_Agreement)
- [Wikipedia — Polder model](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polder_model)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica — History of the Netherlands](https://www.britannica.com/topic/history-of-the-Netherlands)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica topic lookup — The Wassenaar Agreement](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=The+Wassenaar+Agreement)
- [Wikipedia — History of the Netherlands (1900–present)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Netherlands_(1900%E2%80%93present))
- [Wikipedia — History of the Netherlands](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Netherlands)