The massive TSN home help agency was declared bankrupt on Wednesday with the loss of thousands of jobs.

The company is a making a ‘structural loss’ and management said there is no ‘real prospect’ of providing home help services in a financially responsible way, news agency ANP reports.

Some 4,500 of TSN’s 12,000 workers have been taken over by other home help agencies but the fate of the remaining staff is unclear.

TSN applied for court protection from creditors last December after a court refused to allow it to cut staff salaries by up to 30%.

Junior health minister Martin van Rijn is planning to meet home nursing sector representatives shortly in an effort to reach a new deal on ensuring better pay protection for workers.

Responsibility for home helps has been transferred from national to local government and the budget has been slashed by 40%, putting pressure on wages. The home help organisations say councils should stop going for the very cheapest options, because the pay and working conditions for staff are getting worse.