The Dutch House of Representatives voted in favour of completely opening the labour market to workers from new Member States as of 1 May 2007. However, the Green Left Party and the Labour Party demanded further guarantees in terms of equal pay for equal work, and proper housing and working conditions for these workers. To win the parties’ support, the Minister of Social Affairs and Employment agreed to explore supplementary protection measures.
With effect from 1 May 2007, restrictions on the Dutch labour market were lifted completely for workers from the new EU Member States (NMS) in line with the European Commission’s recommendations on the free movement of workers by 2009 (NL0605039I). In practical terms, opening the borders means that workers from the NMS are no longer required to apply for a work permit to take up work in the Netherlands. The vast majority of the Dutch House of Representatives (Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal) supported the government’s proposal in this respect.
Issue of protecting workers debated in parliament
Once again, the debate focused on how best to protect the new workers from being underpaid and exploited (NL0610019I). The two left-wing parties, the ruling Labour Party (Partij van de Arbeid, PvdA) and the opposition Green Left Party (GroenLinks), had the most trouble supporting the legislative proposal and demanded further protective measures for these workers. First, the parties wanted assurances that housing would be properly arranged for workers from the NMS and that fraudulent temporary employment agencies would indeed be exposed and penalised for illegal practices. In particular, the two parties wanted to strengthen the rights of workers hired out by fraudulent temporary employment agencies. They argued that these workers should be able to claim wages in arrears from the company they work for in cases where the employment agency goes bankrupt. In response to these demands, the Minister of Social Affairs and Employment, Piet Hein Donner, guaranteed that an investigation would be carried out into how the rights of these workers could best be protected, even though he felt that awarding statutory rights was unnecessary. Minister Donner’s promise to draw up an inventory of possible ways to combat fraudulent structures in June sufficiently reassured the two parties and gained their support for the government’s proposal.
Social partners to combat fraudulent practices
The fear of worsening working conditions, underpayment and fraudulent structures to hire out workers is not unfounded, as is evident from the many cases that came to light over the past year. For example, the Labour Inspectorate (Arbeidsinspectie) concluded that the number of fines for illegal work carried out by foreigners doubled in 2006. This relates to 3,000 fines imposed largely in sectors such as fish and meat processing, building and construction, and metalworking. Several hundred private individuals who had hired in workers from eastern European countries were also fined €4,000 for each worker.
In an effort to combat fraudulent practices, the social partners are taking an increasingly joint approach. The Allied Unions (FNV Bondgenoten) and the Dutch Association of Temporary Work Agencies (Algemene Bond Uitzendondernemingen, ABU) have initiated legal proceedings against an agency they consider is carrying out illegal practices. They believe the agency, which specialises in hiring out Polish employees, is responsible for the death of a Polish worker who died in November 2005 after falling from the roof of a building on a demolition site. The Polish employee was hired out by Euro Business Holland to an assembly company named LMB. This is the first time that a sector-wide organisation has taken legal action against a temporary work agency. ABU has witnessed enough fraudulent practices in the temporary agency employment sector, and maintains that such practices damage the name of the entire sector among Polish workers, as well as among other foreign workers. In this regard, ABU wants the government to take firmer action and to raise the level of the fines imposed on organisations for providing illegal employment.
Collective agreement for temporary agency workers
In a new collective agreement, ABU has established rules for housing workers, and for the housing and transport costs that may be deducted from their wages. Workers must in all cases receive the minimum wage. These rules have received the support of all the sector-wide associations. If the terms of this collective agreement are extended across the sector, it will have earned legal status. All temporary work agencies will have to honour the terms of the agreement, even if they are not affiliated to a sector-wide organisation. Together with the trade unions, ABU has for two years effectively policed the collective agreement. However, many fraudulent practices have escaped scrutiny. While the collective agreement watchdog monitors compliance, the Labour Inspectorate is needed to ensure enforcement of the rules of the agreement.
Marianne Grünell, Hugo Sinzheimer Institute (HSI)