Netherlands preparing to ban temporary jobs in meat sector over abuse of migrant workers

The Dutch government is working on a ban on temporary workers in the meat processing industry due to the many abuses within the sector involving migrant workers employed as temporary agency staff. Minister Hans Vijlbrief of Social Affairs and Employment wants to implement the ban by mid-2028, sources close to the Cabinet told RTL Nieuws. The Cabinet is expected to decide on this in the Council of Ministers meeting on Friday.

For years, there have been concerns about migrant workers being exploited in the Netherlands, working too many hours in unsafe conditions for too little pay. Many migrant workers work in the meat processing sector. Discussions with the meat sector have been ongoing under various Cabinets since 2021.

Marian Raicu, who works as an intermediary for Romanian migrant workers, recently told Nieuwsuur that the meat sector is still not a safe place to work. “If you have no experience and don’t want to lose your hands or fingers, you’d better not work in the meat sector.”

Last year, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment issued an ultimatum to the meat sector, giving the sector a year to get staff safety in order. If they don’t, the government will ban temporary workers from working in the sector. That ultimatum expired on June 15.

Sector association VleesNL argued that the meat sector has made improvements across the board. But according to the trade union FNV, the improvements are “a paper reality” and “a case of the butcher judging his own meat.”

In a parliamentary debate about the meat sector in June, Vijlbrief already said that he “did not see the necessary progress in the sector.” According to RTL’s sources, it is now just a matter of figuring out when to implement the ban. There is some contention about this between the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Ministry of Agriculture.

Vijlbrief (D66) wants to implement the ban as early as possible - January 2028. State Secretary Silvio Erksens of Agriculture (VVD) thinks the sector should be given more time to adjust its workforce and hire people. They’ve tentatively agreed on implementing the ban in June 2028, the sources said.

By that date, everyone working in the meat processing sector must be employed directly by the meat company. In the months leading up to that, this already applies to new contracts.