Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2023, published 112nd ILC session (2024)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Netherlands (Ratification: 1933)
Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 - Netherlands (Ratification: 2017)

Previous comment

The Committee welcomes the ratification by the Netherlands of the Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930. Noting that the first report of the Government on the application of the Protocol has not been received, the Committee hopes that the Government will provide detailed information on its application, in accordance with the report form adopted by the Governing Body.

The Committee notes the observations of the National Federation of Christian Trade Unions (CNV) and the Netherlands Trade Union Confederation (FNV), received on 13 September 2022 as well as the Government’s reply to these observations, received on 28 November 2022.

Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25 of the Convention. Trafficking in persons. 1. Implementation and monitoring of National Action Plan. The Committee previously requested the Government to continue to provide information on the adoption and implementation of the action plans to combat trafficking in persons as well as on the action of the monitoring mechanisms, including the National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings and Sexual Violence against Children and the Task Force on Human Trafficking.

The Government indicates that the National Rapporteur on Trafficking is responsible for: examining trends in the extent and nature of trafficking in persons and the impact of policy measures taken to address these trends; advising the Government; and submitting periodic reports in this regard. It further indicates that the Task Force on Human Trafficking brings together all parties (both government and non-governmental) involved in combating trafficking in persons under the leadership of the Public Prosecutor’s Office. The Task Force’s fifth term was established in 2020. The Government states that the new National Action Plan launched in 2018, which aims to tackle trafficking in persons for the purposes of labour exploitation, sexual exploitation and criminal exploitation through five lines of action (prevention, identification, detection, sheltering and international cooperation) has achieved significant results and will be continued from 2023, with a larger annual budget for its implementation. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken for the effective implementation of the National Action Plan, and to specify the results achieved and the difficulties encountered in this regard. The Committee also requests the Government to continue to inform on the activities of the National Rapporteur on Trafficking and the Task Force on Human Trafficking, providing in particular summarized information on the nature and trends of trafficking in persons in the country and on the results of the monitoring and assessment of the national policy.

2. Identification and protection of victims. In response to the Committee’s request concerning protection, assistance and compensation granted to victims of trafficking, the Government indicates that victims may obtain compensation through the following means: (i) criminal proceedings against the offender; (ii) civil proceedings to claim damages from the offender (if no compensation order has been made by the Criminal Court); or (iii) the Violent Offenses Compensation Fund, which provides financial support to victims of trafficking in the Netherlands who have suffered severe physical or psychological injury (after submitting a claim, which is possible even if the offender has not been convicted). The Government specifies that, to promote effective compensation for victims of trafficking, the Public Prosecutor’s Office for Serious Fraud organizes training for public prosecutors on financial investigations and on how they may use the information thus gathered to claim compensation for victims.

The Government states that in the framework of the National Action Plan, various measures have been taken to assist and protect victims of trafficking, including the creation of a sufficient number of shelters for victims and different types of shelters adapted to the age and residence status of victims. The Government further refers to the National Rapporteur, who expressed concern at the lack of detection of victims of trafficking for the purposes of labour exploitation by the investigative authorities. In this respect, the National Rapporteur stressed the importance of cooperation to better detect and protect victims of labour exploitation.

The Committee takes note of the FNV and CNV’s observations, according to which victims remain unidentified and do not have access to justice. The Committee also notes that, in its Human Trafficking Victims Monitoring Report 2016–20, the National Rapporteur expressed concern at the abuse suffered by the most vulnerable groups, including migrant workers and individuals in migration flows, and at their increased vulnerability due to the measures taken in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, which have further isolated them. The Committee requests the Government to continue to take the necessary measures to improve the identification of victims of trafficking in persons for the purposes of both labour exploitation and sexual exploitation, paying special attention to migrant workers, as well as all vulnerable groups. It also requests the Government to provide more detailed information on the measures taken to protect and assist victims of trafficking, and to specify the number of victims who have been identified; have benefited from protection and assistance services; have claimed compensation; were granted compensation and effectively received it.

3. Prosecution and application of dissuasive penalties. The Committee previously requested the Government to continue to strengthen the capacity of law enforcement authorities to ensure the effective prosecution of cases of trafficking in persons and the imposition of adequate penalties pursuant to section 273(f) of the Criminal Code. The Government indicates that section 273(f) of the Criminal Code, which criminalises trafficking in persons, is in the process of being amended, in order to increase the possibilities for prosecuting all forms of trafficking in persons, in particular for labour exploitation. The Government also points out that a new section of the Criminal Code (section 273(g)), which came into force in 2022, establishes criminal liability for any person who uses sexual services with the knowledge that the person providing these services is a victim of trafficking in persons. It further refers to the new Criminal Procedure Directive on Human Trafficking entered into force in 2021 which sets the detection and prosecution of trafficking in persons as high priorities and includes various forms of exploitation, namely sexual exploitation, servitude and labour exploitation, criminal exploitation and forced begging.

The Government lists a number of results achieved through the National Action Plan to strengthen the capacity of law enforcement authorities, including: (i) the training of professionals involved in the detection of cases of trafficking; (ii) additional funds to the Police which enabled the recruitment of around 40 additional officers specialising in trafficking in persons in 2021; (iii) the appointment of a person responsible for the regional strategy to combat trafficking in persons within each police district; (iv) additional funds to the Netherlands Labour Authority (NLA), part of which will be used to combat labour exploitation; (v) the creation in 2019 of a permanent group of certified investigators within the NLA responsible for the intake and reporting of cases of trafficking in persons and in 2020 of a special investigation team to investigate labour exploitation issues comprising certified trafficking in persons investigators; and (vi) the development of a set of guidelines for municipal authorities, in 2020 and 2021.

The Committee notes that, in their observations, which refer to trafficking in persons and labour exploitation more broadly, the FNV and CNV highlight the few cases of trafficking in persons for the purpose of labour exploitation that have been prosecuted, as well as the shortcomings of the existing criminal legal framework to combat serious forms of labour exploitation. They point out the weak enforcement of regulations and the lack of a dissuasive approach, and stress that urgent efforts must be made to achieve effective monitoring, detection, prosecution and conviction of cases of labour exploitation. The FNV and CNV refer to the Netherlands Court of Audit, according to which, despite the increase in the number of inspectors within the NLA in recent years, the effectiveness of the measures taken to tackle labour exploitation has not been improved. The FNV and CNV further refer to the National Rapporteur on Trafficking, who has stressed that labour and criminal exploitation often go unpunished in the country.

In response to the observations of the CNV and FNV, the Government indicates that the NLA has sent a report to Parliament on tackling labour exploitation and severe violations of labour laws in November 2021, with detailed information on the effectiveness of existing instruments while concluding that tackling labour exploitation could be more effective if rules and protection were adjusted. It further states that an assessment of the effectiveness of the additional budget allocated to the NLA will be possible after 2022, by which time this measure will be fully operational.

With regard to statistical information, the Government indicates that, according to the National Rapporteur on Trafficking, in 2020, 43 per cent of reports of trafficking in persons concerned labour exploitation, making it the most reported type of trafficking in persons. According to the Human Trafficking Victims Monitoring Report 2016–20 of the National Rapporteur, 984 cases of trafficking in persons were reported in the Netherlands in 2020. In its Human Trafficking Offenders Monitoring Report 2015–19 of January 2021, the National Rapporteur indicates that while the number of reports has increased (from 575 in 2016 to 1,045 in 2019), the number of suspects has decreased (from 285 in 2016 to 170 in 2019), and the number of dismissals has risen (29 per cent of cases were dismissed in 2016, compared with 41 per cent in 2019). Of the suspects arrested, 60 per cent are brought before the courts. According to the 2020 Brochure of the National Rapporteur on Trafficking, the average length of non-suspended prison sentence served by those convicted of trafficking in persons is 1 year and 10 months. In this regard, the Committee further notes that, according to the Report from the Netherlands to the Questionnaire for the evaluation of the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings by the Parties, published on 3 May 2022, 70 perpetrators of trafficking in persons were convicted in 2019, of whom five were sentenced to a fine, one to community service, four to a suspended custodial sentence, 31 to a partially suspended custodial and 29 to an unsuspended custodial sentence. As regards the length of the unsuspended custodial sentence, of the 60 perpetrators sentenced to unsuspended custodial sentences (partially or not), 29 were sentenced to a custodial sentence of less than one year, nine to a custodial sentence of between one and two years, and 22 to a custodial sentence of two years or more.

The Committee recalls in this respect that, given the seriousness of the crime of trafficking in persons and the dissuasive effect that penalties must have, fines or short-term or suspended prison sentences cannot be considered as effective penalties. The Committee thus requests the Government to continue its efforts to strengthen the capacities of the Police and the NLA to identify cases of trafficking for both sexual and labour exploitation and ensure that prompt investigations are undertaken to allow for effective prosecution and the imposition of sufficiently dissuasive penalties of imprisonment on perpetrators. Please indicate the number of investigations and prosecutions carried out, as well as the number of perpetrators convicted and the specific penalties imposed pursuant to section 273(f) of the Criminal Code. Lastly, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the progress made regarding the amendment of section 273(f) of the Penal Code.

Articles 1(1) and 2(1). Unpaid work imposed as a condition for receiving social benefits. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the provisions of the Participation Act 2015, according to which the entitlement to minimum social benefits is conditional on the acceptance and performance of unpaid work (the “tegenprestatie”). Municipalities are responsible for the implementation of the Act, in particular with regard to the duration and nature of the unpaid work, which has to be limited in time and scope. Refusal to perform labour activities for the benefit of the society entails the withdrawal of 100 per cent of the benefits for at least one, but up to three months. The Committee took note of the FNV’s concerns regarding abuses in the implementation of the Participation Act, according to which work imposed on beneficiaries of social benefits is used to perform regular jobs, sometimes of up to 32 hours per week for several months or up to a year.

The Government indicates that the information requested by the Committee concerning the types of work performed, the working hours and duration of the unpaid work, as well as the level of benefits received by the persons concerned, is not available. It points out that municipalities are required to draw up a policy under which beneficiaries must perform work in return for the payment of their benefits, after which they have freedom of action in implementing this policy. The Government adds that municipalities manage the implementation of this policy in various ways: some municipalities use it at a greater extent than others and the type of activities can vary, with certain municipalities considering informal care and voluntary work as compensation, for example, while others do not. According to a survey among municipalities on the use of work in return for the payment of social benefits, 60 per cent of municipalities apply this policy. In the month of March 2021, it was estimated that 34,200 recipients of social benefits had performed some work in return for the payment of their benefits, representing approximately 8 per cent of people receiving social assistance. The Government states that the work imposed to receive social benefits contributes to the reintegration into the labour market and should not replace paid work.

The Committee notes that, in their observations, the FNV and CNV underline that, despite its aim to promote reintegration into the labour market, the “tegenprestatie” system has not led to an increase in employment for people receiving social benefits. They add that recipients of social benefits face Government scrutiny and mistrust and hope that the Government will remove “tegenprestatie” from the Participation Act. The FNV refers to a study they carried out in 2020 on the displacement of paid work as a result of the Participation Act, according to which: (i) the former Social Work Companies, for which 17,000 recipients of social benefits performed work for more than three months in 2019 under “tegenprestatie”; (ii) the healthcare sector, where a large number of recipients of social benefits have worked since the Government decided to cut jobs in this sector in response to the 2008 crisis; (iii) the transport sector, where drivers on unprofitable bus lines are recipients of social benefits.

The Committee recalls that the minimum social benefits received under the Participation Act do not constitute an entitlement based on previous work or contributions, but consist of a social assistance benefit granted to persons on purely social grounds. The Committee nevertheless encourages the Government to continue to ensure that work that may be imposed by municipalities in return for the payment of social benefits, is kept within the limits and objectives fixed by law, in particular by effectively contributing to the reintegration of beneficiaries in the labour market and by not being used to replace paid work.