For this project, entitled Migrants on the frontline, members of RUNOMI and the Centre for Migration Law spoke to some 300 migrants, businesses, and agencies in the agriculture, horticulture, meat and distribution sectors: the crucial sectors that had to keep going during the pandemic to meet the basic needs of the Dutch population. They found that the conditions under which migrants work and live are often sub-standard when it comes to health and safety.
De Lange: “Human dignity is often insufficiently prioritised in the way we make migrant workers do this work. Rooms with far too many people, and people even having to share mattresses. There are also some good practices, but these only represent a small section of the market affiliated with temporary employment agencies. These companies follow the rules and want to do the right thing. But there are also lots of companies that focus on business as usual and don't want anything complicated that costs too much money. Every five years, another research study comes out that says: what a disgrace, we are a prosperous country, and it is not true. But in the end not much changes.”