Dutch parliament wants Cabinet to limit labor migration from non-EU countries

The lower house of the Dutch parliament, the Tweede Kamer, wants the Cabinet to do more to limit the number of labor migrants from outside Europe who come to work in the Netherlands via other European Union (EU) countries. The on-lending of non-EU migrant workers is permitted under European rules, but according to parties such as PVV, VVD, D66, SP, SGP, and FVD, it is often used as a "backdoor."

European agreements make it possible, for example, for employees from countries like Uzbekistan to be hired via an employment agency in Slovakia before they come to the Netherlands to work. Such an employment agency can temporarily deploy workers for a project in another EU country, which is permitted under European rules on the free movement of persons.

However, in practice, labor migrants often do not work in the sending country at all but are put to work directly in the Netherlands. VVD MP Thierry Aartsen said that this is not in line with the spirit of European legislation. "They are evading premiums and collective labor agreements."

He thinks that this can be solved by tightening Dutch regulations. For example, he suggests a minimum period for which such a migrant worker must work in the sending country.

D66 suggests that this construction is only permitted for people who earn at least 125 percent of the minimum wage. A loophole makes it possible for Dutch companies to push down the gross amounts they pay for staff by legally hiring people through a construction where a worker is dispatched by a firm in a country that demands lower premiums for social programs, claimed Anne-Marijke Podt, a politician serving in the Tweede Kamer. These countries often require employers to pay less than the Netherlands for programs like unemployment, sick leave, social security, and public healthcare.

The PVV also pointed out that temporary workers often only work one day in the original EU country. MP Maikel Boon wants these "dubious constructions" to end. According to SP politician Bart van Kent, the situation of these labor migrants from outside the EU is "dehumanizing." He wants there to be direct action and noted that even Eastern European labor migrants are being priced out of the market.

Minister Eddy van Hijum (Social Affairs) was asked by the SGP to request support in Europe for tightening the rules.