Nearly half, or 48%, of temporary workers in the Netherlands can barely make ends meet financially according to a study from trade union CNV.

The study polled 600 temporary workers and found that 35% need more than one job to make ends meet, 38% must also be available full-time, but have a part-time employment. 

Meanwhile 37% claim they earn less than colleagues who do the same work and 61% would rather have a permanent job than they do agency work.

Arend van Wijngaarden, CNV chairman said the figures were “distressing” and said it was “extremely unacceptable” adding that it was “time to put a stop to this harmful trend.

The study found that 86% of temporary employees do the same work as permanent employees. Meanwhile, 55% do not expect to move on to a permanent job at the company where they now work as a temporary worker and 65% have been working as a temporary worker for more than two years.

 "The original idea of ​​temporary agency work - replacement during sick and peak hours - has been abandoned by many employers, according to these figures,” van Wijngaarden said. “Many temporary workers are stuck in the stranglehold of the temporary employment regime. The vast majority do the same work as permanent employees but have no prospect of a job with the hiring employer.”

“The law makes it almost impossible to have certainty as a temporary worker for up to 78 weeks,” van Wijngaarden  said. “No wage payment in the event of illness and no protection against dismissal. We want to reduce that legal standard, which sends a wrong signal, to a maximum of 26 weeks. "We also appeal to employers: hire people and offer them the same salary as your other employees."