jstar
Mr. 10,000
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The Breda College of Applied Sciences Habeo+ has received a fine of 347,200 euro from the Labour Inspectorate, because the school brought Indonesian nurses to the Netherlands under false pretenses. The Breda college and mediation agency Yomema planned to bring about 1,200 students from Indonesia to the Netherlands every year. The goal was to make up for the shortages in care this way.
The nurses were approached in Indonesia by Yomema. The nurses were promised that they could follow a college degree in the Netherlands. During this training, they would work 16 hours a week as an intern under supervision at healthcare institutions in the provinces of Drenthe and Flevoland.
There were previously concerns about exploitation in the project and there was a fear that the students would be deployed as cheap labor. Even before the first nurse had even left for the Netherlands, officials from four ministries were critical about this project. A Dutch civil servant of the immigration department wrote: "For institutions it is obviously extremely lucrative to first have an (cheap) intern for four to five years and then employ them as well-integrated workforce. And why would the nurse return to Indonesia after four to five years, where both care and salary are at a much lower level." Despite these concerns, the project went ahead.
At least 62 Indonesian nurses came to the Netherlands through this project. An investigation by the Labour Inspectorate shows that the students were indeed deployed as employees and there was no question of an internship under supervision. The students also worked more hours than had been agreed in advance. The Indonesian nurses therefore had to be seen as employees and not as students. But the healthcare institutions and college did not have the right permits needed for this.
In addition to the fine for the college in Breda, the healthcare institutions in Drenthe and Flevoland also received penalties. In addition to the fines, the Labour Inspectorate has issued a warning to the university, to prevent the same construction from being used again in the future.
The nurses were approached in Indonesia by Yomema. The nurses were promised that they could follow a college degree in the Netherlands. During this training, they would work 16 hours a week as an intern under supervision at healthcare institutions in the provinces of Drenthe and Flevoland.
There were previously concerns about exploitation in the project and there was a fear that the students would be deployed as cheap labor. Even before the first nurse had even left for the Netherlands, officials from four ministries were critical about this project. A Dutch civil servant of the immigration department wrote: "For institutions it is obviously extremely lucrative to first have an (cheap) intern for four to five years and then employ them as well-integrated workforce. And why would the nurse return to Indonesia after four to five years, where both care and salary are at a much lower level." Despite these concerns, the project went ahead.
At least 62 Indonesian nurses came to the Netherlands through this project. An investigation by the Labour Inspectorate shows that the students were indeed deployed as employees and there was no question of an internship under supervision. The students also worked more hours than had been agreed in advance. The Indonesian nurses therefore had to be seen as employees and not as students. But the healthcare institutions and college did not have the right permits needed for this.
In addition to the fine for the college in Breda, the healthcare institutions in Drenthe and Flevoland also received penalties. In addition to the fines, the Labour Inspectorate has issued a warning to the university, to prevent the same construction from being used again in the future.
