E-Module Chapter 4: Migrants and Precarious Housing

Many migrant workers from Central and Eastern Europe arrive in the Netherlands with 'package deals' they receive from their employment agency that includes benefits like housing and daily transportation. However, the package deals may also be an instigator of insecurity due to the migrant's dependency on the employment agency. In this assignment, provided by Ids Baalbergen, you'll learn more about these 'package deals' and be asked to answer a few questions. If you have a general interest in the situation of agricultural workers in Europe, you might also want to check the Italian case of Campobello di Mazara.

1) Read the following information about “Package deals” among Central and Eastern European migrant workers in the Netherlands.

The annual inflow of Central and Eastern European migrant workers in the Netherlands has increased from just over 25,000 in 2004 to 125,000 in 2019 (Statistics Netherlands 2021). To meet labor demands, Statistics Netherlands expects this trend to continue in the coming years. The majority of migrant workers coming to the Netherlands do so via an employment agency. These agencies recruit people in Central and Eastern Europe and arrange transport to the Netherlands. After arriving in the Netherlands, the agency arranges work in sectors such as horticulture, logistics, construction, and meat processing. In addition, they may arrange housing, daily transport to and from the workplace, and healthcare insurance. According to employers and employment agencies, these “package deals” are indispensable as migrant workers would not be able to find affordable housing on their own and would fall victim to exploitation by malicious landlords.

However, the package deals may also be an instigator of insecurity. The main reason for this is the dependency relationship between the migrant worker and the employment agency. Since they live in employer-arranged housing, they can be evicted when they lose their job, and this may result in ongoing feelings of uncertainty. This issue is worsened by the fact that migrant workers are not always registered correctly, and this makes them ineligible to stay in emergency shelters. According to the Municipality of Rotterdam (2021), this has forced some migrant workers to reside in tents in city parks.

The dependency relationship may also hinder migrant workers from filing complaints about their housing conditions. Often, employment agencies rent a dwelling from a private landlord and subsequently sublet it to multiple migrant workers. This has been accompanied by signals of unsuitable housing conditions due to overcrowding and corresponding safety issues (Booster Team Migrant Workers, 2020). In The Hague, a fire recently destroyed a housing block. Afterward, the local alderman stated that multiple 50-square meter dwellings in the housing block were occupied by 8-10 migrant workers.

Employment agencies are allowed to subtract expenses to provide package deals from the wages of their employees, as long as they earn minimally 75% of the minimum wages after subtracting all costs. Yet, some employment agencies are accused of writing out fines to their personnel for minor transgressions such as untidiness (Booster Team Migrant Workers, 2020). Another issue for migrant workers is that they are not always rostered for as many hours as they initially expected. While speaking with a representative of the Federation of Dutch Trade Unions he noted that: “people often come here with the promise of full-time work and nice accommodation. But in the end, they often can only work for 15-20 hours a week and live in a dirty house”.  

Based on the previous, it can be concluded that package deals may result in precarious housing conditions among Central and Eastern European migrant workers due to insecurity, unsuitability, unsafety, and unaffordability issues. For more information about this topic, see the article published by The Guardian (2021) last year about the working and living conditions of migrant workers in the Dutch meat processing industry (under “further reading”).

2) Write an essay (1000 - 1500 words) on the topic of 'package deals'. Answer the following questions:

1.     Employers argue that package deals are indispensable and protect migrant workers from exploitation by  malicious landlords. However, as shown in this module, they may also lead to precarious housing conditions among migrant workers. Can you think of solutions to reduce precarious housing conditions among migrant workers in the Netherlands?

2.     Particular municipalities in the Netherlands are currently stimulating the development of large-scale housing sites or ‘hotels’ for migrant workers. These sites often provide accommodation to 200 or more migrant workers, and are situated outside residential areas. Examples of such sites can be found in the footnotes[1][2][3][4]. Name three advantages and three disadvantages of such housing sites for migrant workers. If needed, refer to the article mentioned under “further reading” by Ulceluse, Bock, and Haartsen (2021).

References

Booster Team Migrant Workers. (2020). Geen tweederangsburgers. Aanbevelingen om misstanden bij arbeidsmigranten in Nederland tegen te gaan. [No second class citizens. Recommendations to combat abuses among migrant workers in the Netherlands.]. Ministerie van Sociale Zaken en Werkgelegenheid.

Municipality of Rotterdam. (2021). Werken aan een menswaardig bestaan. Actieprogramma

EU-arbeidsmigranten 2021-2025 [Working on a dignified existence. Action program

EU migrant workers 2021-2025]. Gemeente Rotterdam.

Statistics Netherlands. (2021). Vooral minder immigranten van buiten de EU [Fewer

immigrants from outside the EU]. CBS.

Further reading

European Policy Institute. (2020). Are agri-food workers only exploited in Southern Europe?

Case Studies on Migrant Labour in Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden. Open Society Foundations.

The Guardian. (2021). Low pay, long hours, broken dreams: working at Europe’s biggest meat exporter. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/sep/29/low-pay-long-hours-broken-dreams-working-at-europes-biggest-meat-exporter

Ulceluse, M., Bock, B., & Haartsen, T. (2021). A tale of three villages: Local housing policies,

well‐being and encounters between residents and immigrants. Population, Space and Place(e2467), 1-11.