A group of Indonesian students who are in a work-study program with Zorggroep Drenthe, a health care provider, have complained about broken shifts, unpaid travel time between clients, working every weekend, disappearing overtime hours and almost no supervision.
According to an investigative report by RTV Drenthe, they were brought to the Netherlands by Yomema (Your medical matchmaker), an agency that touts it as an innovative way to solve the staff shortages in the Dutch health care sector. Now, more than a year and a half after the launch of the program, there is a dropout rate of 17.5 percent among the students working at Zorggroep Drenthe.
The students are being trained as Bachelor of Nursing International, an international title equivalent to a bachelor’s degree in nursing level 6. They have completed a health care education at vocational or university level in Indonesia and followed a program in the Dutch language and culture.
The students also say that they are being routinely underpaid and that they do not have access to a union. They add they are afraid to speak out, because of fears of being fired.
“These people are in a dependent position and that makes them very vulnerable,” says Camara van der Spoel of FNV Zorg en Welzijn, a labor union for health care workers. “If you are launching a project like this, arrange it well. You can’t treat people like this.”
The Dutch authorities have launched an investigation into the alleged irregularities. In the meantime, the Immigration and Naturalization Service has put new student visa applications on hold until the inspection is complete.
FNV Zorg en Welzijn has sharply criticized the program, calling it as a “glamor project” that neglects the welfare of employees and relies on short-term contracts, contributing to the need for foreign workers.
Zorggroep Drenthe has acknowledged the students’ complaints and says that its own investigation is underway. The healthcare organization says that it wants to support the students in every possible way and that it is committed to ensuring their welfare.
The students’ complaints are a stark illustration of the problems in the Dutch healthcare system, RTV Drenthe says. There is a chronic shortage of nurses, which leads to high workloads and frequently results in hospitals making doctors and nurses work longer hours. The government should make more funds available for healthcare, so that medical professionals can get better pay and more personnel can be hired. At the same time, it needs to ensure that healthcare institutions provide good working conditions for their staff.
