Union: Young people abused, tricked on summer jobs

Young people are often put to work on summer jobs on tasks that they should not be doing, according to union CNV. The union received over 200 mails and calls this past weeks from concerned parents, Het Parool reports. According to the union, many jobs have rules according to the age of the employee, but many young people do not know about this. They can therefore be tricked into doing things they are not supposed to be doing. For example, you have to be at least 15 years old to deliver newspapers, and then only after 6:00 a.m. You can only work in construction if you're older than 16 and can only work with toxic substances and in loud places if you're older than 18. "Especially in the staffing industry, hospitality, retail and agriculture and horticulture things seem to often go wrong." Piet Fortuin, president of CNV Vakmensen, said to the newspaper. "Young people are paid too little, work too long or do risky work because the employer wants to sit ringside for a dime."