Law to protect migrant workers delayed due to ‘lack of enforcer’

Legislation aimed at preventing low-skilled workers from abroad from being exploited by employment agencies has been postponed again because there is no one to monitor compliance. minister of social affairs Eddy van Hijum has told parliament.

The legislation should have come into effect on January 1, 2026. It would require employment agencies to obtain formal approval from the ministry before being allowed to operate and pay a €100,000 deposit as proof of their commitment to properly pay workers and pay taxes. and premium obligations.

A bona fide agency license is one of the recommendations in a report on Former SP leader Emile Roemer will protect foreign workers in 2020. “It’s too easy to set up a temporary employment agency and there are too many unreliable companies,” Roemer said at the time.

Van Hijum, who described the delay as “disappointing”, said he is now trying to determine whether the ministry can take over enforcement itself, but that this will take more time. The legislation would go through the parliamentary process next year.

It’s the second time legislation, which would put an end to the exploitation of thousands of seasonal and other workers in the food industry and logistics, has been postponed.

“This was the only concrete measure on the table to tackle exploitation work migrants,” says GroenLinks-PvdA MP Mariëtte Patijn in a response.

Van Hijum said that the role of the supervisor will be “complex” and it remains to be seen whether it can be done by officials of the Ministry of Social Affairs. The government’s cuts in the number of civil servants will also have an impact, says Van Hijum.

The minister is planning to appoint a further 35 labor inspectors to help tackle the sector’s problems. “But without a way to permanently remove rogue staffing firms from the market,” they will be able to continue operating and avoid compliance, he said.

Earlier this month Van Hijum told the Telegraph in an interview that the government is exploring the possibility of bringing criminal charges against employers who abuse low-skilled foreign workers or smuggle them into the country to do menial jobs.

“Unfortunately there are too many examples of poor working conditions, exploitation And poor housing,” he said. “We want to address this as quickly as possible.”

At the same time, he believes, the number of immigrants coming to the Netherlands must be drastically reduced. “Labour migration has gotten out of hand,” he told the newspaper. “We have to be more critical about who we admit in work.”