Social Affairs Minister Piet Hein Donner is going to introduce new legislation to offer foreign workers better protection against exploitation by Dutch employers.

The bill will give the Institute for Employee Benefit Schemes and the Labour Inspectorate wider powers to crack down on employers who hire illegal workers or do not treat foreign workers fairly. If employers have been fined for previous offences, the Institute will withdraw or refuse permits. The new legislation comes in response to a scandal that hit an asparagus farm earlier this year, when it was discovered that Romanian employees were forced to work under harrowing conditions. The employer in question had been fined several times.

(Photo Flickr/roel1943)