Flexible contracts, poor housing and lack of information; EU citizens working as temporary workers in the Netherlands too often experience abuse. That has to change, say Klaas Burger (Academy for Imaging) and Francien Winsemius (FairWork).
On a daily basis, FairWork sees the vulnerable position of EU citizens working here as temporary workers: precarious work, attached housing, lack of information and even sexual harassment. “For years, the same temporary employment agencies have been in the top five companies we get complaints about,” says Winsemius.
FairWork organizes talks with government and business and raises the issues through media: this has led to small improvements. Winsemius: “But we are looking for real change. If you keep doing the same thing, you get the same result. That is why we are now taking a different route.”
FairWork and the Academie voor Beeldvorming are investigating whether and how things can be fairer in the temporary employment industry. Burger: “Fair Jobs is a public experiment, the start of a movement working on fair temporary work. Within the project, we are testing what happens when you put the interests of temporary workers first. We will carefully document this process and make it public. In this way we want to understand why abuses are so prevalent in the Netherlands. And: how can it be done better?”
Program
1300 Reception with walk-in lunch
13:30 Film Fair Jobs (2022), first scene
13:45 Arrival of first Fair Jobs temps: Boris and Isa from Bulgaria
14:00 Introduction Fair Jobs as a public experiment
14:15 Working sessions, sub-themes:
– Housing
– Rights and obligations of agency workers
– Responsibility of employers
– Abuses
15:00 Break, visit Future of Work exhibition
15:30 Work session: How can Isa live and work safely, healthily and fairly in the Netherlands?
*English. Participants will be videotaped during this session. The filmed material is the basis for the second scene of the film Fair Jobs
16:30 Plenary closing, followed by drinks/snacks
Sign up: Send an email. You will then receive a personal invitation with more information. This is also the email address where you can ask questions to Fair Jobs.