Unions call for action on flexible and zero-hour work contracts

Workers on flexible and call-out contracts are being exploited and need better protection in law, the trade union federation FNV says. The union received 600 complaints to a special hotline set up last year to monitor the position of people on flexible contracts. Social affairs minister Lodewijk Asscher said he will not take any action to improve the position of flexible staff until unions and employers have concluded their talks on a new social contract. ‘Since the start of the crisis, companies have done all they can to find ways through the law to cut wage costs by using these minimal contracts,’ FNV spokeswoman Catelene Passchier told news agency ANP.