Aid organisations have expressed their worry as they have received a number of reports of Ukrainian refugees being exploited while living in the Netherlands.
FairWork, an organisation that supports victims of labour exploitation in the Netherlands, has had to step in and help a whopping 212 Ukrainians since the beginning of the Russian invasion.
The organisation is concerned about this vulnerable group. Specifically in terms of how they’re treated and taken advantage of in the workplace, reports the NOS.
How are Ukrainians being exploited?
The organisation has received many complaints concerning shocking acts by employers in the Netherlands.
These include the non-payment of salaries, in addition to other employment law complaints, such as people having to pay an intermediary to get their citizen service number (BSN).
An example of such exploitation can be seen in the case of a middle-aged Ukrainian man who fled the war in April and has been living in the Netherlands ever since.
He reported to FairWork that he worked more than ten hours a day for less than minimum wage, only to get fired after a month — and put on the street without a salary. Lovely.
READ MORE | Here’s how you can help Ukraine from the Netherlands
In fact, in 2022, FairWork aided 173 Ukrainians out of 1,200 people who approached the organisation with questions and complaints.
And it doesn’t just concern the workplace. Last year, FairWork noted that 69 Ukrainians were also at risk of human trafficking. In comparison, five Ukrainians faced this risk in 2021.
Empty promises in exchange for work
Speaking with the NOS, Oksana Savchuk of the Ukrainian House in the Charlois district of Rotterdam explains that many Ukrainians are forced to turn to social media to find work.
Many are told they must pay an intermediary to arrange work — which should never be the case — and then things take an even worse turn.
FairWork tells the NOS of one Ukrainian man’s story. He had found an employer through an advertisement on Facebook. While he had no contract, the employer claimed he would arrange this after a month, and he was promised a salary of €12 an hour.
Guess what? The employer never delivered on these promises.
These acts of exploitation happen frequently, reports Savchuk, who has estimated that about five Ukrainians with similar complaints come to the centre each week.
“They partly experience the same as other migrant workers. They are often recruited via social media with the promise that the paperwork will be in order. They work for free for a month, and then it turns out that the papers are not in order and that they are not paid,” she explains to the NOS.
She expects that people who turned to FairWork for help are just the tip of the iceberg. According to her, many Ukrainians “don’t dare to talk.”
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