Just before last Christmas, Dani Ivanova, 30, was busy preparing orders in the warehouse of a well-known supermarket chain in Amsterdam when a colleague shoved a trolley past her, causing Ivanova to fall and sprain her hand.

At the time, she was four months pregnant, and Ivanova sought medical assistance, showing BIRN documentation regarding her injury. However, shortly after informing her employer about the incident, she was terminated, with the company citing her performance as below standard.

After being paid on a weekly basis for eight-hour shifts, Ivanova returned to Bulgaria, disillusioned by her treatment and concerned about her fellow colleagues—many of whom are migrant workers—who are hesitant to voice their experiences due to fears of workplace repercussions.

In light of her experience, she attempted to reach out to the agency that facilitated her employment but received no reply.

Other Bulgarian workers, predominantly hailing from struggling small towns or rural areas, expressed to BIRN a sense of being treated as second-class citizens, feeling unprotected and exploited. Nevertheless, their earnings often serve as a crucial financial support system for families back home.

As per official Dutch statistics, approximately 123 million euros were remitted from the Netherlands to Bulgaria in just the second quarter of last year. This marks a significant rise from only 3.8 million euros in the same quarter a decade ago in Q2 2014.

Despite the increase in remittances, complaints about exploitation are also on the rise.

Hekkens from FairWork noted a “slight rise” in the number of complaints received by the NGO last year compared to 2023, though he did not specify exact figures.

Experience has shown at FairWork that migrant workers are at the highest risk for injuries in sectors like logistics, construction, meat processing, agriculture, and horticulture.

Employment contracts are often temporary or informal.

“Contracts typically last for a few weeks, or in better cases, a few months, lacking renewal guarantees and a stable number of hours, resulting in workers being paid only for the hours they actually work,” Hekkens stated in writing. “This creates an unstable income situation.”

“Many employees are dismissed without just cause or are not informed that their contracts won’t be renewed, placing them in very precarious circumstances.”

These arrangements often lead to vague employment conditions and illegal or unfair salary deductions for expenses such as housing, health insurance, transportation, and potential penalties related to illness, including even terminations.

“Numerous Bulgarians work as freelancers without formal contracts or access to benefits,” noted Hekkens, increasing their vulnerability even further.

In January, Dutch media outlet Investico reported on the struggles of Polish workers, including Jakub, who lost a hand in a workplace incident at a paper shredding company a decade ago; Piotr, who suffered an elbow fracture and, despite continuing to receive his salary, received no compensation or inspections; and Kasia, who was let go from her job at a slaughterhouse following a workplace accident.

The report cited Tesseltje de Lange, a professor of European Migration Law at Radboud University, who mentioned that there are hundreds of cases each year where employees sustain injuries at work without the employer taking any action. According to the Scientific Research and Data Centre (WODC), the vast majority of these cases are resolved outside of the court system.

‘Not worth it’