Unions call for the number of labor migrants to be regulated

The parties negotiating to form a new Cabinet need to work on regulating labor migration because it is an "unprecedented disgrace" that workers are sleeping on the streets in the Netherlands, said labor union CNV. The head of the Labor Inspectorate said this week that the Netherlands has reached its limit with regard to the number of labor migrants, and political parties PVV, VVD, NSC and BBB have been trying to hammer out a deal about migrant labor, immigration, and asylum.

Inspector General Rits de Boer said there are many signs in the Netherlands that the country cannot handle more labor migrants. If the number of labor migrants keeps rising with no end in sight, they will wind up in "miserable living and work situations."

"Housing and work need to be separated. For now, the rule for labor migrants is no job, no home. So, anyone losing their job is forced to sleep on the streets. We have called for a while for this to be separated and to ensure decent housing for the people that we bring to the Netherlands. Politicians and employers must take responsibility for this," said CNV chair Piet Fortuin.

The union also wants the Labor Inspectorate's capacity to be expanded. "In many areas, we are seeing that the limited capacity makes employees outlaws. Why would you, as an employer, stick to the rules if there are fewer controls? Expanding the labor inspectorate needs to be a top priority for the politicians," said Fortuin.

The FNV labor union has also observed exploitation of labor migrants for years, with concerns about “unacceptable and degrading” working conditions, living conditions and quality of life. FNV director Petra Bolster said that there is a “surplus of bad employers who put all the profits in their own pockets, but let society pay for all the problems arising from the exploitation of labor. It is time for employers to pay the fair price for labor.”

The union said political decisiveness, better regulations and effective enforcement are necessary. “An example of this is investing in the capacity of the Labor Inspectorate. Because without regulation, effective enforcement and control, employers can continue to exploit migrant workers. Another example is to impose sanctions and fines that really hurt.”

In the Labor Inspectorate’s report, De Boer also referred to homeless Polish people living in tent camps between Scheveningen and The Hague. He is also concerned about construction sites where mattresses, sleeping bags and cooking stoves are found because the people who work there also have to sleep and eat there.

According to Fortuin, the CNV union has taken note of a similar perspective already for some time. “Poor housing, abuses and terrible working conditions. The negotiating political parties are now probably putting the finishing touches on a new agreement. Let them take these important points into account at the last minute: expansion of inspection and regulation of labor migration. It is fully in line with the call for greater social security, to which the forming parties owe their election wins.”

“Thousands more vans with a leaking fuel pump from Eastern Europe do not bring us any closer to our environmental goals,” says Inspector General. “Another hundred thousand people per year for whom you cannot build houses because of the nitrogen restrictions has negative consequences for those people themselves, but also for the quality of life in our neighborhoods. Even more labor migration leads to even more miserable living and working conditions.”

“On paper, labor migration does lead to growth in gross domestic product, but there are all kinds of costs that are not priced in: extra pressure on the housing market, education, the energy grid, healthcare,” De Boer also stated. “Extra activity in one place can lead to pressure on the housing market in surrounding areas.”

While employer organizations VNO-NCW and MKB-Nederland agree with De Boer about the need to address abuses regarding labor migration, it is important not to be dismissive of the work these people undertake. The work they do makes “an essential contribution to our economy.”

Employers would like to see the excessive exploitation problems to be “eradicated at its roots,” and that rogue entrepreneurs are “toughly dealt with by the inspectorate.” The argued, “It is also important that there is an integrated vision on migration and what the Netherlands needs.”

VNO-NCW and MKB-Nederland do believe that “labor-saving technology” can help limit the demand for some lower-skilled positions filled with labor migrants.

However, agriculture and horticulture organization LTO Nederland sees no point in limiting the influx of migrant workers, as was advocated on Tuesday by the head of the Labor Inspectorate. “Migrant workers are a valued group of indispensable employees in agriculture and horticulture.”

The association represents farming businesses, garden firms and the horticulture sector. The group said migrant workers, like all other employees, make an important contribution to the economic growth and prosperity of the Netherlands.

Farmers and gardeners do recognize that employers bear an important responsibility. “From the point of view of good employment practices, migrant workers must be well taken care of and that is being done. A lot goes well, but not everything,” claimed LTO, in contrast with the picture painted by De Boer and the labor unions.

The LTO also noted the free movement policy allowing citizens of European Union Member States to live and work freely within the EU. LTO said it believes that employers who want to invest in high-quality living conditions should receive more support than they currently get.

“And where rules are clearly violated, strict enforcement must be carried out by the Labor Inspectorate.”