Minister acts to ensure equal pay for foreign workers

Social affairs minister Lodewijk Asscher has finalised draft legislation aimed at stopping companies from not paying foreigner workers the same wages as Dutch staff.

This, the minister said, is disadvantaging Dutch workers and by ensuring everyone is paid the same companies will no longer be able to compete unfairly with each other.

‘People should get the same pay for the same job, whether they come from Rotterdam or Romania,’ Asscher said.

The legislation states that workers who are underpaid can claim the rest from their employer or sub-contractor. If that fails to generate results, they can claim their unpaid wages from higher up the contracting chain.

Reputation

‘The main contractor has an interest in making sure underpayments are solved in order to prevent claims or reputational damage,’ Asscher said at the presentation on Friday.

The new legislation also states that pay will be transferred electronically and all workers must be given an easy-to-understand wage slip. Nor can deductions any longer be made for rental housing costs.

Last year, labour ministry inspectors identified 582 workers who were not paid official rates, over 200 more than in 2012.