Government to increase controls regarding unfair treatment of Polish workers

The Labour Inspectorate of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment plans to intensify its controls on irregularities concerning the treatment of Polish employees in 2008, but remains less committal about housing problems. In December 2007, the Dutch House of Representatives decided that the ministry must first resolve matters related to Polish workers before discussions could be initiated on granting Romanian and Bulgarian workers further labour market access.

The Labour Inspectorate (Arbeidsinspectie) of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment (Ministerie van Sociale Zaken en Werkgelegenheid, SZW) plans to intensify its controls on irregularities concerning the treatment of Polish workers and those from other central and eastern European countries in 2008. The Minister of Social Affairs and Employment, Piet Hein Donner, made this commitment to the Dutch House of Representatives (Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal) in December 2007. The Labour Inspectorate plans to carry out additional inspections into possible cases of underpayment of these workers, overly long working hours and poor working conditions. Moreover, the inspectorate will, for the first time, be imposing fines on companies that only pay their employees minimum wages while requiring them to work excessively long hours.

Stricter labour law compliance checks

The new initiatives proposed by Minister Donner and the Labour Inspectorate to step up labour law compliance controls have come about in response to criticism expressed by the House of Representatives and the parties involved in the employment of migrant workers, including temporary work agencies. In the 2007 parliamentary debate, the minister showed little appreciation for tensions in the labour market and problems associated with accommodation of migrant workers from central and eastern European countries as highlighted by several parties. According to the minister, accommodation problems are largely associated with a reduced number of areas in some cities, but they are not a general problem. To implement the new initiatives, a municipal inventory is to be drawn up in the spring of 2008. On this basis, the minister will carry out an assessment, also including the boundaries of his ministerial responsibility, which he believes relates primarily and largely to the labour market. He also responded positively to the request of the Christian Democrat Alliance (Christen Democratisch Appèl, CDA) to launch an enforcement campaign with more stringent controls on employers.

Municipalities and temporary work agencies want broader checks

Municipalities are concerned about the private housing situation of Polish workers. As eastern Europeans are easy prey for rack renters, this leads to overfull accommodation and associated problems. In particular, the cities of Rotterdam and The Hague have received an influx of many eastern European newcomers. Temporary work organisations are concerned that the actions of dubious employment agencies are placing bona fide agencies in a bad light. Research carried out by the Dutch Trade Union Federation (Federatie Nederlandse Vakbeweging, FNV) on pay issues showed, in an earlier stage of the debate, that employees from eastern European countries are often lower paid than their Dutch colleagues.

As a result, municipalities and temporary work agencies want all agencies to be obliged to obtain a certificate of good practice. Moreover, they hold bogus agencies largely responsible for the current problems. The temporary employment sector would like to see more stringent rules for temporary work agencies. Studies show that more than 5,000 bogus agencies are active at present. To date, a minority of 1,300 agencies are in possession of a certificate of good practice. The Foundation for Compliance with the Collective Agreement for Temporary Agency Workers (Stichting Naleving CAO voor Uitzendkrachten, SNCU) imposes fines itself on temporary work agencies found to be in breach of the collective agreement, but relies on employers’ support (NL0711019I). While, for the time being, a new rule on good practice will not be drafted, Minister Donner has now agreed to intensify enforcement of compliance with labour law by the Labour Inspectorate.

Access for Bulgarian and Romanian workers remains restricted

According to the Central Bureau of Statistics (Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek, CBS), more than 100,000 workers from central and eastern European countries were working in the Netherlands at the end of 2007, up to 70% of whom were Polish. Temporary work agencies believe that the actual number of eastern European migrant workers in the Netherlands largely exceeds the CBS figure: they estimate that 150,000 workers from eastern Europe – mainly Polish – are now working in the Netherlands.

In December 2007, the House of Representatives decided that Minister Donner must first resolve matters involving Polish workers before discussions could be initiated on granting Romanian and Bulgarian people further access to the labour market. Based on Bulgaria’s and Romania’s accession to the EU on 1 January 2007, workers from these countries will be able to work in the Netherlands without restriction with effect from 1 January 2009. Given the current large number of available job vacancies in the Netherlands, the Dutch cabinet was hoping to bring this date forward. However, the House of Representatives has now put an end to this aspiration.

Marianne Grünell, Hugo Sinzheimer Institute (HSI)