Dutch Labour Inspection 2008-2011: stricter controls for companies with higher safety risks 15.05.2008
‘Tough where it’s needed and easy where it’s not.’ That’s the central message from the Dutch Labour Inspectorate in the 2008 Annual Plan and the Long-Term Strategy for 2008-2011.
In the years ahead the Labour Inspectorate will concentrate its checks primarily in sectors and companies where employee workplace risks are relatively high, such as in construction, industry, the waste sector and sheltered employment. The inspectorate will also keep a close watch on companies and sectors which have lower than average compliance with the legal rules. The main focus is on working and resting periods, alien workers and minimum wages. Employers and sectors which already work safely, such as financial institutions and retailers, will be largely unaffected, although the Labour Inspectorate will certainly check reports or signs of workplace risks. Attention will continue to be focused on concrete risks arising in safe sectors, such as aggression in shops.
In 2008 the Labour Inspectorate will carry out 36 inspection projects focusing on working conditions and work and rest periods. Some 20,000 companies will be put under the microscope. The Labour Inspectorate has announced it will check around 10,000 companies for illegal workers.
In international terms Dutch companies don’t do badly when it comes to working safely. Improvements must now come primarily from the companies and sectors themselves. The new Dutch ‘Arbowet’ or Working Conditions Act also allows companies and social partners more scope to interpret their policy themselves. Employers and employees thus acquire considerable responsibility of their own. But if they do not implement it, the Labour Inspectorate will come down hard.
For further information see: www.arbonieuwestijl.nl and www.arbeidsinspectie.szw.nl
