FNV, CoMensha and LSI call upon Dutch Parliament members to take concrete actions against labour exploitation
On September 28, 2021, the Dutch Court of Audit issued a report (in Dutch) on tackling labour exploitation in the Netherlands with the title, “Perpetrators free, victims not helped.” The conclusions from the report are firm and confirm what the Dutch trade union FNV, LSI’s member CoMensha and La Strada International have been pointing out for years: the approach to labour exploitation in the Netherlands is failing.
In a joint letter (in Dutch) to the House of Representatives, the signatories jointly call for concrete actions and a better approach to labour exploitation in the Netherlands, including:
- More proactive, effective and coordinated actions on labour exploitation
- Better enforcement of labour law through use of fines, penalties and closing of firms.
- More focus on known risks and risk sectors
- Sharing of relevant information through public-private partnerships
- Improve access to justice and compensation options, including access for workers to claim unpaid wages
- Consider the amendment of the Dutch criminal code article on human trafficking (art. 273f Sr) to include a specific crime description of labour exploitation
- Ensure a full implementation of the Court of Audit’s recommendations.
See also FNV guest article on LSI’s website and a short English summary of the report.