THE HAGUE, 15/05/08 - Economic Affairs Minister Maria van der Hoeven disputes that employers are not contributing enough to childcare. A higher employers contribution is not on the agenda, she writes on the website of her ministry.

"More and more people are claiming that employers are lagging behind in paying their share of childcare. But employers are not paying too little. They pay exactly what has been agreed within the cabinet," according to the Christian democrats' (CDA) minister.

The employer pays a fixed amount per employee, in good and bad times. "At the beginning of the cabinet period, this contribution from the employers was actually raised. Partly as a result, they pay more for childcare than employees. A higher employers contribution is in my view therefore not appropriate."

The cabinet decided last month to sharply prune support for childcare because the scheme is turning out much more expensive than budgeted. The exact plans are unknown and will be announced on Budget Day (Prinsjesdag) in September.