Dutch Protest Today Points at Exploitation of Central and Eastern European Workers

The FNV labour federation in The Netherlands is engaged today, 9 March, in an emergency meeting with the nation’s tripartite Social Economic Council to address the misuse by Dutch employers of workers from Central and Eastern Europe.

ICEM affiliate FNV Bondgenoten is conducting a protest outside the Council’s building as the meeting is in progress. The meeting will also focus on the negative effects of a new health insurance system introduced in the country.

Workers from Poland and other Central and Eastern European countries have flocked to The Netherlands in search of work. They have often been met by unscrupulous employers who use these workers on a term-limited contract basis, or as self-employed workers, in an effort to undermine collective bargaining agreements. The resulting payment of lower wages has a direct effect on all Dutch citizens.

FNV Bondgenoten has been successful in its “Equal Pay for Equal Work” campaign, which has brought union membership to a significant number of Central and Eastern European workers, particularly Poles. “We are not against Polish workers coming to The Netherlands for employment, but we insist they be treated fairly, and so do they,” said FNV President Agnes Jongerius.