10 December 2007

THE HAGUE – Christian Democrats CDA and Labour PvdA want to postpone further opening of the border to Eastern European workers.

The coalition parties do not want consider lifting the work permit requirement for Romanians and Bulgarians in the next year or two, as was the plan. The existing problems with Eastern European – mostly Polish - workers must first be solved.

CDA and PvdA plan to argue this during the debate on the social affairs budget in Parliament this week. The previous cabinet had set a work permit requirement in effect until 2009 for residents of Romania and Bulgaria, who are now EU members. That should stay in effect for the time being, says CDA MP Eddy van Hijum.

Together with colleague MP Mariëtte Hamer of the PvdA he pointed out the current problems with housing Poles and other workers from Eastern European countries that have been EU members since 2004 and who do not need a work permit to work in the Netherlands. Hamer feels that Social Affairs Minister Piet Hein Donner should take a more active role in solving the problems surrounding Polish workers.

Donner recently announced that he and Integration Minister Ella Vogelaar, municipalities and employers all want to combat problems caused by concentrations of Eastern Europeans in certain areas.

But Hamer fears that the responsibility for the addressing these problems is being too spread out among too many players and that ultimately little will be done as a result. PvdA and CDA also say that the Labour Inspectorate should carry out more inspections into illegal labour and exploitation.

[Copyright Expatica News + ANP 2007]

Subject: Dutch news