Labour inspectors are to pay extra attention to the mushroom sector this year after levying €1.5m in fines on mushroom growers in 2010.
There are some 200 mushroom firms in the Netherlands which still pick the product by hand. Of the 98 firms inspected last year , more than a quarter employed illegal immigrants – a total 120 people were found without proper papers.
Other firms paid their largely Polish and Bulgarian workers well below the minimum wage, forced them to work longer than the statutory 38 hour week and charged large amounts for bed and board, the report said.
Source: www.dutchnews.nl
