Following news reports that approximately 350 elementary schools in the Netherlands announced in a manifesto that they will no longer hire ‘expensive’ temporary or self-employed workers for the coming school year, the ABU (Dutch Federation of Private Employment Agencies) said it will enter into discussions with school boards.

The ABU added that it regrets the school boards’ decision.

Jurriën Koops, director, ABU, said, "We want to understand exactly where the concerns lie and where we can contribute to solving them."

“Temporary employment agencies exist to solve labour market problems in a responsible manner,” Koops said. “Also in education, to guarantee continuity, train new teachers and thus organise lateral intake or support in shaping the HR policy of a school. This is not part of 'buying away' teachers and then putting them back. We condemn this practice.”

Earlier this month, Dutch news outlets reported that the reason why the schools should not hire temporary or self-employed workers is because the elementary schools have to pay ‘extortionate prices’ for the temporary workers.

Jos Timmermans, chairman of the Aves school foundation board, told Het Financieele Dagblad (The Financial Times), “Many more schools share the frustration but could not sign because they are already in the stranglehold of the temporary employment sector.”

According to Timmermans, a teacher who works at the school through an intermediary costs on average 68% more than a salaried teacher. For teaching assistants, that figure rises even higher, to 105%. Timmermans wants to spend this money more sensibly.

The NL Times reports that the government also plans to restrict temporary workers in schools through a draft bill. According to the draft, schools will be required to hire at least 80% of staff on a permanent basis, while 5% of the budget may continue to go to temporary workers. Government investment in training more teachers or paying teachers more to keep them retained in their permanent roles do not seem to be options under consideration to alleviate staff shortages.

The ABU Education working group has developed a code of conduct for temporary workers in education. The key terms in the Education Code of Conduct include equal partnership, responsible market behaviour, openness and transparency, clarity about what services are offered, and responsible rates.