Treating migrant workers as equals and not second-class citizens was the main message of the October 2020 Incentive Team to protect migrant workers. This Roemer report received widespread support and the cabinet at the time called for the sector to be regulated.

Exactly two years later, improvements have been made, but legislation is still pending.

In the Netherlands, migrant workers are too dependent on their employer, concluded former SP leader Emile Roemer in his report on their living and working conditions. For example, housing, health insurance and transport are usually organized by employment agencies. It’s nice because the people who come here don’t know the country and don’t speak the language, but that leads to too much dependency.

Losing your job also means losing your home. Because of this, the number of homeless migrant workers seems to be increasing in the Netherlands. The Labor Inspectorate also concluded that dependency is undesirable: it encourages exploitation. For example, migrant workers cannot go elsewhere if their housing is found to be in poor condition.

abuse

A large corporation treats its employees well, Römer noted, but there are also dubious agencies that deliberately abuse this vulnerable position. For example, by not paying full wages or by offering dirty and overcrowded housing.

The Labor Inspectorate speaks of “private benefits, public costs”: For example, overcrowding can lead to harassment. If temporary workers do not think carefully about where they live, this can lead to additional pressure in the tight housing market.

Although the Booster team made fifty recommendations, the overarching message was clear: treat migrant workers as equals, not second-class citizens.

To prevent exploitation and abuse, the Booster team recommended certifying employment agencies. There was a licensing system, but that was abandoned in 1998. After that, the number of employment agencies increased from 4,000 to 15,000 and the sector controls itself.

A second recommendation concerned better registration of migrant workers. It is often unclear where they live and work. Third, work and home must be separated and municipalities and provinces must be able to do more to enforce bad housing.

applied some changes

The legislation is still in the making, but some things have changed in the industry in the run-up to it.

Temporary employment agencies, which are affiliated with industry associations such as ABU and NBBU (together 85 percent of the market), have agreed in their collective agreement that the worker can remain in the home for four weeks after the end of a temporary employment contract and may not be immediately thrown out on the street. In the event of a loss of work, temporary workers are entitled to two monthly wages.

ABU members are now also required to offer migrant workers a contract in their native language. If an employment agency wants to receive an SNSF quality mark, each object must be inspected annually.

What about the legislation?

The Hague is about to change the legislation. And that takes time, say the three ministries that are responsible for the file.

Social affairs and employment regulate the certification system for employment agencies. In order to be certified for four years, an agency must be (financially) audited, hold a VOG, post a deposit of 100,000 euros (to avoid transient employment) and offer certified housing.

The Labor Inspectorate receives additional money for surveillance. The proposal is due to go indoors early next year, with the ministry aiming for 2025.

Housing falls under public housing. EUR 50 million has been allocated to create housing for vulnerable groups. According to the ministry, 4,700 additional apartments for migrant workers are planned. In addition, there is a “Good Landlord” bill on the table, which is intended to give municipalities more opportunities to protect tenants from abuse. This law also regulates that municipalities can oblige a separation between bed and boss, two contracts instead of one. The bill is now before the House of Representatives.

The registration of migrant workers is a municipal responsibility overseen by the Ministry of the Interior. The government wants to record the contact details and temporary residence addresses of migrant workers in the Basic Registration of Persons (BRP), but this is only done for people living and working in the Netherlands for more than four months. This is to come into force on January 1st.