"Concerns about Ukrainian refugees being exploited in Netherlands,"

Aid organizations are worried about Ukrainian refugees facing similar exploitation as many migrant workers in the Netherlands. FairWork, an organization that fights against modern slavery, has helped 212 Ukrainians in the Netherlands since Russia invaded their country in February last year. The Ukrainian House in Rotterdam also regularly helps exploited refugees...

FairWork told NOS one Ukrainian’s story as an example of the conditions they help with. He worked over 10 hours a day for less than minimum wage, only to get fired after a month without a salary. Most of the other complaints FairWork helped Ukrainian refugees with concerned the non-payment of wages, often in combination with other employment law complaints. Several reported having to pay an intermediary to get their citizen service number (BSN).

Last year, FairWork helped 173 Ukrainians with such complaints out of a total of 1,200 people who approached the organization. It noted 69 Ukrainians at risk of human trafficking...

“They experience some of the same things as other migrant workers. They are often recruited via social media with the promise that the paperwork will be arranged within a month. They work for free for a month, and then it turns out that the papers are not in order, and they don’t get paid either,” [Ukrainian House spokesperson Oksana] Savchuk said to NOS...