Barbara Kathmann

Barbara Catharina Kathmann (born 12 May 1978) is a Dutch politician, serving as a member of the House of Representatives since 2021. She is a member of the Labour Party (PvdA). Before being elected to the House, she served as a municipal councilor and alderwoman in her hometown Rotterdam. Kathmann has also worked in media and at two nonprofit organizations.

Barbara Kathmann
Member of the House of Representatives
Assumed office
31 March 2021
Alderwoman in Rotterdam
In office
5 July 2018 – 13 February 2021
Succeeded byRoos Vermeij
Member of the Rotterdam municipal council
In office
27 March 2014[1] – 5 July 2018
Succeeded byKevin van Eikeren[2]
Personal details
Born
Barbara Catharina Kathmann[3]

(1978-05-12) 12 May 1978
Rotterdam, Netherlands
Political partyLabour Party
SpouseHuib Lloyd
Children3
Alma materUtrecht University

Early life and non-political career

She was born in 1978 in Rotterdam as the daughter of an architect and a nurse and grew up in the neighborhood Spangen.[4] She has an older brother and an older sister.[5] Kathmann attended the Rotterdamsch Lyceum at vwo level from 1990 until 1997 and subsequently studied law at Utrecht University.[6] In 1999, she took a job as account manager at the Bureau voor Managementondersteuning, a management consultancy firm, and started studying history of international relations at the same university.[7][8] Kathmann would finish that study in 2007.[8]

She joined the new pragmatic idealistic radio and television broadcaster LLiNK in 2004, the year before it became part of the Dutch public broadcasting system. There, she served as senior editor, host, and correspondent. Kathmann also started working as a voice-over. LLiNK ceased broadcasting in 2010, as the NPO would not carry its programming anymore.[7] That year, she and her then boyfriend established the foundation Jarige Job (Birthday boy), which gifts boxes with supplies to celebrate a birthday to children living in poverty.[9] She served as its director for two years.[10] Simultaneously, she worked as an editor and producer at CCCP, a creator of television programs and marketing content.[7]

In 2012, Kathmann became project manager at the Giovanni van Bronckhorst Foundation, which offers a sports education program to help children in their last two years of primary school, when it was founded.[4][11] She was promoted to director and remained in that position until her appointment as alderwoman in Rotterdam.[7]

Politics

Kathmann was elected to the Rotterdam municipal council in the 2014 municipal elections. She was the Labour Party's second candidate and became deputy caucus leader.[12][13] In the council, Kathmann focussed on sustainability and mobility.[14] She was her party's lijsttrekker in the 2018 municipal election in Rotterdam and campaigned on addressing inequality by creating jobs.[15] She was re-elected and became her party's caucus leader.[7]

In July 2018, when a new coalition had been formed, she left the council to become alderwoman of economy, neighborhoods, and villages.[7] Kathmann also appeared 41st on the PvdA's party list during the 2019 provincial election in South Holland.[16] As alderwoman, she was responsible for preparing the Hook of Holland ferry for a potential no-deal Brexit.[17] Furthermore, Kathmann started a pilot that turned about 90 retail properties into residential ones in order to combat vacancy.[18] For the same reason, she founded a taskforce to reduce the number of shopping areas and to decrease the sizes of others.[19] During the COVID-19 pandemic, Kathmann and the alderman of finance announced that entrepreneurs and independent contractors could postpone paying local taxes.[20] She was also involved in Rotterdam's plan to revive the economy, which included a retraining program and €233 million in funding for seven construction projects to add green spaces.[21][22]

House of Representatives

She ran for member of parliament in the 2021 general election, being placed seventh on the Labour Party's list. In February 2021, Kathmann resigned from her position as alderwoman to campaign.[23] She was sworn in as House member on 31 March after she had been elected with 4,780 preference votes.[24] Kathmann became the Labour Party's spokesperson for security, justice, and the interior. Her portfolio later changed to social affairs, employment, economic affairs, and climate, and she is a member of the Committees for Digital Affairs, the Interior, Justice and Security, Kingdom Relations, and Public Expenditure as well as the parliamentary inquiry into natural gas extraction Groningen. Kathmann is also the secretary of the Labour Party caucus.[8][25]

She wrote an opinion piece with Kati Piri in 2022, in which they stated that corporations had become addicted to migrant workers. According to them, this should be addressed through higher wages and through tackling violations of labor laws.[26] Kathmann also co-filed an amendment to shorten the term for personal debt restructuring from three to one and a half years. It received the support from a majority of the House.[27] In 2023, she continued a 2017 effort by her party to introduce the right to disconnect. She argued that anxiety about short-term contracts was pressuring employees into engaging in work-related activities outside of work hours. To accommodate for occupations that deal with emergencies, the bill would not provide an absolute right to not be disturbed, but it would force employers to have a conversation with their workers.[28] Furthermore, Kathmann successfully defended a bill in the Senate to replace the monthly minimum wage in favor of an hourly one together with Senna Maatoug (GroenLinks). The monthly minimum wage caused full-time employees to receive the same salary whether they worked 36 or 40 hours per week.[29]

Personal life

She lives in Rotterdam and is married to Huib Lloyd, who she met at a hockey club during her childhood.[4][22] They have three sons.[4]

References
  1. "Vergadering Gemeenteraad 27-03-2014" [Municipal council meeting 27-03-2014]. Gemeente Rotterdam (in Dutch). 27 March 2014. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  2. "Notulen raadsvergadering" [Minutes municipal meeting]. Gemeente Rotterdam (in Dutch). 5 July 2018. p. 897. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  3. "Drs. B.C. (Barbara) Kathmann". Parlement.com. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  4. Kathmann, Barbara (26 September 2017). "Barbara Kathmann is nieuwe lijsttrekker PvdA Rotterdam" [Barbara Kathmann is the new lijsttrekker of the Labour Party in Rotterdam]. AD (Interview) (in Dutch). Interviewed by Monica Beek. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  5. Zo Ben Ik Groot Geworden [This Is How I Was Raised]. Rijnmond (Radio broadcast) (in Dutch). 7 November 2012. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  6. "Biografie, onderwijs en loopbaan van Barbara Kathmann" [Biography, education, and career of Barbara Kathmann]. Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 24 June 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  7. "Wethouder Kathmann" [Alderwoman Kathmann]. Gemeente Rotterdam (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 5 February 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  8. "Barbara Kathmann". Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal. 31 March 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  9. Van Leeuwen, Marlies (21 August 2010). "Gratis feestpakket voor arme kinderen" [Free party box for poor children]. AD/Rotterdams Dagblad (in Dutch). p. 1.
  10. Van der Krol, Folkert (26 November 2020). "Rotterdamse wethouder Barbara Kathmann vertrekt na verkiezingen naar Tweede Kamer" [Rotterdam alderwoman will leave for the House of Representatives after the elections]. AD (in Dutch). Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  11. "Jaarverslag 2016" [Annual report 2016] (PDF). Giovanni van Bronckhorst Foundation (in Dutch). p. 10. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  12. Hoogstad, Mark; Kooyman, Marjolein (25 March 2014). "Karakus vertrekt alsnog" [Karakus still departs]. AD/Rotterdams Dagblad (in Dutch). p. 1.
  13. Kooyman, Marjolein (28 March 2014). "Ik wilde de burgemeester een hand geven" [I wanted to shake the mayor's hand]. AD/Rotterdams Dagblad (in Dutch). p. 4.
  14. "Kathmann nieuwe lijsttreker van PvdA" [Kathmann Labour Party's new lijsttrekker]. De Telegraaf (in Dutch). 27 September 2017. p. 13.
  15. Jorritsma, Elsje (11 November 2017). "Arme Rotterdammers moet je helpen, niet straffen" [You should help poor people from Rotterdam, not punish them]. nrc.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  16. "Bruijn (PvdA) wil naar provincie" [Bruijn (Labour Party) wants to join states-provincial]. AD/Rotterdams Dagblad (in Dutch). 12 November 2018. p. 2.
  17. Oosterom, Eric (14 February 2019). "Keurpunt voor vlees, vis en bloemen moet brexit-files voorkomen" [Check point for meat, fish, and flowers is supposed to prevent Brexit traffic jams]. AD (in Dutch). Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  18. Ritman, Maarten (21 November 2018). "Lege winkel wordt woning" [Empty shop becomes a house]. De Telegraaf (in Dutch). p. 14.
  19. "Minder winkels in Rotterdam" [Fewer shops in Rotterdam]. De Telegraaf (in Dutch). 21 November 2019. p. 14.
  20. Boerma, Bas; Van Heel, Leon (19 March 2020). "Ondernemers en zzp'ers krijgen uitstel van betaling lokale belastingen" [Entrepreneurs and independent contractors will receive postponement of local tax payments]. AD (in Dutch). Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  21. Paans, Arjan (3 September 2020). "Het is de hoogste tijd voor Rotterdamse crisis-clichés" [It is about time for the Rotterdam crisis clichés]. nrc.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  22. Van der Krol, Folkert (28 November 2020). "Barbara Kathmann als komeet naar Tweede Kamer: 'Den Haag kan wel een portie Rotterdam gebruiken'" [Barbara Kathmann as a meteor to the House of Representatives: 'The Hague could use a little Rotterdam']. AD (in Dutch). Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  23. Van der Krol, Folkert (27 January 2021). "Kathmann stopt 13 februari als wethouder. 'Rotterdam neem ik straks elke dag mee naar Den Haag'" [Kathmann quits as alderwoman on 13 February. 'I will bring Rotterdam with me everyday to The Hague']. AD (in Dutch). Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  24. "Uitslag Tweede Kamerverkiezing 17 maart 2021" [Results general election 17 March 2021] (PDF). Kiesraad (in Dutch). 26 March 2021. p. 268. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  25. "Tweede Kamer" [House of Representatives]. PvdA (in Dutch). Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  26. "Werkgevers, ga afkicken van die hongerloontjes" [Employers, stop with those starvation wages]. Algemeen Dagblad (in Dutch). 21 May 2022. p. 17.
  27. De Jonge, Adriaan (25 January 2023). "Tweede Kamer stemt voor kortere schuldentrajecten" [House of Representatives votes in favor of shorter debt restructuring]. Binnenlands Bestuur (in Dutch). Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  28. Scholten, Wilfred (8 February 2023). "Krijgen werknemers het recht om onbereikbaar te zijn?" [Will employees get the right to disconnect?]. Trouw (in Dutch). Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  29. Herderscheê, Gijs (14 February 2023). "Eerste Kamer stemt in met minimumloon per uur: salarisverhoging op komst voor honderdduizenden Nederlanders" [Senate passes hourly minimum wage: Salary increase coming for hundreds of thousands of Dutch people]. de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 15 April 2023.
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