An estimated tens of thousands of third-country nationals live and work in the Netherlands without having permits, the Labor Inspectorate told Nieuwsuur. It increasingly encounters these undocumented migrants from outside the European Union during its inspections. According to the Inspectorate, a large proportion of third-country nationals work here illegally in the construction, agriculture and horticulture, meat processing, and hospitality sectors. Others end up in informal employment, for example, working as a babysitter or cleaner at people’s homes. “Where we used to see mainly Eastern Europeans, we now increasingly see third-country nationals working in various sectors,” May Verstappen of the Labor Inspectorate told the current affairs program. This group is at high risk of being exploited, she added. “But because they are here illegally, it is difficult to check whether this is the case.” The Inspectorate is encountering many Brazilians in particular. It has no official figures but estimates that around 35,000 Brazilians are working without a permit in the Amsterdam region alone. The Inspectorate is also encountering many Georgians during its investigations into abuses in the labor market.
continue reading
Source: nltimes.nl
