Amsterdam plans to tackle discrimination on the jobs market by using what city officials call ‘mystery guests’ to identify companies using unfair practices to recruit staff.

‘Discrimination is the order of the day on the Amsterdam jobs market,’ said employment alderman Rutger Groot Wassink. ‘The chance of getting a job or internship in our city is not the same for everyone.’

Based on national figures which show 15% of workers think they have faced discrimination because of their age, sex or race, some 8,000 city workers have been in this situation, Groot Wassink said.

‘Amsterdam is a diverse city and no single group is dominant. And that means we have to share power,’ he said.

The project will start by looking at the city’s own staff and focusing on companies in which it has a shareholding, such as Schiphol airport, the port authority and the public transport company GVB.

The city already uses mystery guests to clamp down on discriminatory door policies at clubs and bars.

Groot Wassink’s plans will be discussed by city councillors on January 30. The plan also includes ‘naming and shaming’ companies which have discriminated against job seekers.