De Fabel van de illegaal 71/72, summer 2005
Author: Harry Westerink
Unions use spy phone to hunt undocumented workers
In 2004 in Belgium the extreme Right "Vlaams Blok" opened a spy phone to inform on the undocumented. People were horrified by the idea. But that didn't stop the Dutch unions from starting a similar spy phone on May 2nd, 2005, to tell on illegal work in building areas. The unions pass the information on to the labor inspection service and in this way aid the hunt for the thousands of undocumented workers, among whom many Polish.
Typically on the day after May 1, the international day of struggle of the working class against capitalism, the Dutch national construction union FNV Bouw, the national Christian construction union CNV and the trade union HZC, for the first time gave workers the opportunity to tell on their colleagues through an telephone info point. "Workers in construction more and more often experience unfair competition of cheap foreign labor forces who do not work according to the central labor agreements. We hope that the info point will increase the pressure on the employers who hire illegals, so that they know that they can be caught", the unions declared.
But of course it will be the undocumented workers who will be "caught". Instead of struggling for equal rights for all workers, the unions collaborate - seemingly with the motto "own workers first" - with the government which organizes raids against the undocumented on the work place. By doing so, the unions divide the workers and help the government. CNV spokesman Johan Slok denies that his union is pitting workers against each other. "There are already examples now of Dutch people being fired after which Poles are being hired. Dutch workers now look at Poles with suspicion. That will not get worse because of this new phone line."(1)
Spy culture
The disabled workers council from the province of Friesland thinks completely different on the increase of this kind of "spying" in society. "Since the beginning of the nineties industrial insurance boards and social services have adapted their policies on anonymous hints to modern times, or better: to the trends. Often without any discussion on principles in administrations or city councils they turned from "not" to "do" accepting anonymous telling on others. This change of norms seems to come together with the diminishing of solidarity - the cement that keeps society together - and the increase of the importance of the individual interests, the separate stones. One doesn't have to work in construction to know that this doesn't enhance the societal ties and cohesion." According to the Frisian council, "a formal and public acceptation" of "spying" arises when it is being deployed as official policy instrument. People are being encouraged to "be each others spy and to tell on each other. Slowly a spy culture is being created in which it is considered ever more normal to create suspicions about others."(2)
Vice chairman John Kerstens says that FNV Construction wants to channel "certain sentiments" within the union" in "good directions". "For some time now we hear members and cadres saying things like: "the foreigners are coming". The union didn't always listing to those sounds, and that has led to cadres calling out even louder. We are of course not deaf to the sentiments in our ranks." That's why the union has started "an investigation" on illegal labor, comparable to the company raids of the labor inspection service and foreign police. FNV cadres now "chart" on construction site "how it is going with labor that has crossed the border". "That doesn't mean that we are going to hunt for foreigners", Kerstens says. "We are not officially competent. We leave that to the labor inspectors with whom we do cooperate." (3) But who collaborates with the "hunt" also makes dirty hands.
Together with the government, the unions want to build a dam against "the Polish floods"(4) in order to protect "our own workers". Therefore we need "more police on construction sites", says senior civil servant Lex van Dijk of the labor inspection service. To track down illegal workers, the "inspection capacity" has been enlarged in recent years. The construction intervention teams and the Social Intelligence and Police Department (SIOD) have intensified their hunt. "We are happy with every effort of employees and employers to curb undocumented work", says Van Dijk, who will "gratefully use" any "hint or signal from FNV Construction".(5)
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