An unnamed Rotterdam refinery has been fined nearly €2m for employing hundreds of Romanian workers without proper permits, RTL news said on Thursday.

The Romanian staffing agency which provided the workers has also been fined almost €2m, the broadcaster said.

Factory inspectors apparently found 242 Romanian nationals without proper permits working on a building project on the refinery site.

The refinery has paid the fine, the agency has not, RTL said. Both companies have appealed and, according to RTL, the staffing agency has applied for bankruptcy protection.

The social affairs ministry has made tackling the problem of fraudulent staffing agencies a priority. Fines have also been increased.