Testing news for Belgium September 7th 07/09/2007 00:00

Free movement of workers from Poland, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Latvia, Slovenia, Estonia and Hungary became a reality on 27 April 2007 – with a few good measures for mutual benefit thrown in.

After much speculation, the Dutch Parliament agreed to abolish the work permit requirement on Wednesday 25 April 2007 and the resolution was published on 27 April 2007. The work permit requirement remains applicable for citizens from Bulgaria and Romania.

Taking steps to prevent unfair competition, the Minister of Social Affairs and Employment has simultaneously introduced measures to make sure that employees of the eight states receive the same wage for the same work as other employees and would receive appropriate accommodation – for instance not overcrowded.

The new measures include:

Employers who pay a salary less than the minimum wage may be subject to fines of up to EUR 6700; 

The labour inspection and the tax authorities will work closely together to fight the minimum wage evasion;
Agreements will be made between the tax authorities and local authorities to make it possible for local authorities to get address details for the maintenance of their accommodation policy.