Call for ban on flexible contracts

The main Dutch union, the FNV, has called for a ban on flexible contracts following a new report highlighting the problems migrant workers face in the Netherlands.

The report, published last month by the Dutch Migration Advisory Council, found that posted migrant workers — those employed by companies in one country but working in another — run a severe risk of exploitation when they work in the Netherlands.

It found that because of their “unclear situations” and the possibility of evading legal controls, “posted labour migrants are at real risk of not receiving the wages, working conditions and social security to which there are entitled”. It called for a ban on flexible contracts in some areas and a tougher approach to rogue agencies.

Petra Bolster, a member of the FNV’s executive, said the fact that the report showed that migrant workers face major problems was no surprise.

She said: “In theory, they are protected against abuse and entitled to equal treatment … in practice employers appear to abuse the situation.”