Social affairs minister Eddy van Hijum has told companies that employ large numbers of foreign workers via staffing firms that they have to get their house in order or face a ban on using temporary staff, reports DutchNews.nl. The ban, Van Hijum said, would be an additional measure that could be taken if the results of efforts to stop the exploitation of foreign workers do not pay off.

“We have to make progress now,” Van Hijum said in a briefing to MPs. “The problems have continued for too long. Employers have to get their sectors organised properly. Companies should treat their workforce decently and not pass the problems on to wider society. Everyone has the right to a proper standard of living, including labour migrants.”

Van Hijum’s decision follows reports from labour inspectors about staffing agencies that sack a disproportionate number of workers and research by SOMO (The Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations) into problems in the meat industry, which relies heavily on foreign workers.

Van Hijum said he hoped to have a clearer picture of the options early next year. “A ban would be a far-reaching step, a last resort,” he said. “That is why we are looking at the situation carefully.”

The minister, who represents the centrist NSC political party (New Social Contract) in the cabinet, said he is also working on draft legislation which would allow him to close down staffing agencies that break the rules.