"Polish workers exploited in the Netherlands"

A new report presents the results of interviews carried out by the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO) and FairWork with Polish migrant workers and case studies that were collected between 2012 and 2015. These identify a number of problems experienced by migrant workers, ranging from unpaid wages and sexual intimidation to substandard housing related to certified as well as non-certified recruitment agencies. Workers faced barriers accessing any remedy to their problems including multiple dependencies experienced in the context of recruited migrant labour and, above all, insecurity through temporary and triangular contractual relationships.

Some highlights from the report indicate that Polish workers are facing negative working conditions in Dutch greenhouses.

Chemicals
Most of the Polish interviewees reported that their work in the Netherlands was physically demanding, and many reported about ensuing physical ailments, ranging from muscle, back or joint problems (in distribution centres) to skin irritation after exposure to chemicals (in greenhouses).

Polish workers employed in Dutch agriculture and horticulture sometimes report they are being exposed to chemicals at work. Although some workers testify their employers only spray chemicals in the greenhouses after work hours, at some greenhouses chemicals are sprayed while the employees are working in the greenhouse.

“I am unemployed now. Before, I always worked with plants and flowers. I was working on a 0-hour contract which lasted 6 months, without a pension scheme. I was having trouble with the agency, but my relationship with the hiring companies was usually good. Unfortunately, I had to quit this work. In the last greenhouse that I worked at, I got a skin affliction; my hands swelled and my skin showed red spots. It got so bad that I had to stop working. A colleague told me that it was normal that the skin affliction appeared, as double the regular amounts of pesticides were being sprayed in the greenhouse at that time.”

Competition
“The owner of the greenhouse where I was employed introduced a competition amongst workers. He put a list with the names of all workers on the wall. They were ranked in phases according to their productivity. When someone was in the orange phase for a couple of days he would be fired. The owner would call up the recruitment agency, tell them the name of the workers and the agency would call the workers to tell them there is no work for them anymore. Whenever the agency phones our houses, everybody is immediately on their guard as the agency only calls when there is bad news.''

Click here to access the SOMO report.