Migrant workers could soon face fine for not properly registering with municipalities
Minister Eddy van Hijum of Social Affairs and Employments wants to fine migrant workers who do not register properly with the municipality they stay in. The NSC Minister also wants to make it more difficult for “third-country nationals” from outside the EU who come to work in the Netherlands to get a citizen service number (BSN), he told the Telegraaf.
With these plans, Van Hijum is responding to complaints from employment agencies that the new rules to stop them from exploiting migrant workers are asking too much of the sector. These additional measures will put more responsibility on migrant workers and the government. Parliament will debate the long-awaited new law that will set up a licensing system for employment agencies to tackle exploitative companies on Wednesday.
According to Van Hijmum, the government itself must also pull out all the stops to curb the abuses surrounding migrant workers. He is, therefore, considering “financial incentives” for migrant workers to actually register with the municipality where they stay. “Some municipalities already do this: if you do not register, we levy tourist tax,” the Minister said. He wants to see if he can implement that nationally. “You should at least be encouraged to behave as everyone in the Netherlands does. If you do not register your move, you will have to pay a fine.”
“We will be less likely to issue BSNs” to migrant workers from outside the EU, Van Hijum also said. These workers often first register with an employment agency in Eastern Europe and then come to work in the Netherlands. The risk of exploitation is especially high for this group. But according to Van Hijum, the ease with which they can get a BSN in the Netherlands is partly why these agencies hire them.
Van Hijum also wants to make it mandatory for migrant workers to register immediately upon arrival in the Netherlands. Currently, they only have to register if they stay in the Netherlands for more than four months. According to the Minister, this measure can help better map how many migrant workers are in the Netherlands and where they are staying.
The NSC Minister previously also proposed banning temporary employment in sectors with many abuses and closing companies caught exploiting migrant workers. According to him, all these measures together are needed to prevent problems around labor migration. “An isolated plan won’t help,” he told the Telegraaf.
