Third of Infrastructure officials faced inappropriate behavior since PVV took over

Almost one in three civil servants at the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management experienced inappropriate behavior in the past year, according to a survey by the trade union FNV. Examples include bullying, harassment, and discrimination. Some civil servants associate the transgressive behavior with the PVV ministers who lead the ministry, RTL Nieuws wrote.

In over half of the cases, the inappropriate behavior was caused by a manager or director at the Ministry, said FNV. “We are quite shocked by this,” a spokesperson said in an online presentation. According to RTL, the union received several reports about controversial comments made by the PVV Cabinet Members - Minister Barry Madlener and State Secretary Chris Jansen - and inappropriate behavior by other managers. 22 percent of officials are considering changing jobs due to how people treat each other at the Ministry.

“A colleague said that I am not good enough because I am not Dutch,” FNV quoted from the responses. An employee was told that they “talk so strangely.” Another civil servant criticized “our Cabinet members’” actions. “Internal discussions, racist and discriminatory clauses regularly occur, especially about Moroccans, foreigners in general, but also about women.” The union concluded: “Management must intervene in the places in the organization where it is unsafe.”

According to Statistics Netherlands, 17 percent of employees experienced undesirable behavior in a general survey in 2023. “With you, it is almost twice as high,” the FNV spokesperson said to the civil servants at the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management.

The working atmosphere at this Ministry came to attention last year when State Secretary Chris Jansen (Public Transport and Environment) said that he still supports PVV leader Geert Wilders’ statements about wanting “fewer Moroccans” in the Netherlands. He later distanced himself from this as State Secretary, but not as a person.

That Jansen’s statements bothered the civil servants at the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management was also evident from documents that ANP requested through the Open Government Act. When Jansen distanced himself from supporting the “fewer Moroccans” statements “as State Secretary,” but not as a person, a civil servant noted that the distancing may be “sufficient” for opposition parties in parliament, “but with this formulation, I fear it won’t be for all colleagues.” Another civil servant responded that they feared the same.

Approximately 1,100 civil servants completed FNV’s survey at least in part. Many work for executive organizations that fall under the Ministry, such as Rijkswaterstaat and the Environment and Transport Inspectorate. It is unclear whether the civil servants are a representative reflection of the Ministry.

The survey results hold up a “mirror” to the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, the Ministry said in a response. “We know from our own employee experience survey that extra attention to social safety is needed in various places in the organization,” the Ministry wrote. “We see this confirmed in the findings of FNV.” The survey offers “valuable insights” that the Ministry wants to “utilize.”

“Because it is paramount that there is no place for transgressive behavior in our organization,” said the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management. “Where it still occurs, we tackle it.”