Labour migrants hired through recruitment agencies were almost six times more likely to be sacked on the spot than their native Dutch colleagues, figures from employee insurance agency UWV show.

The figures were requested by the Socialist Party (SP), which is campaigning to highlight the exploitation of foreign workers in sectors such as meat packing.

In 2020 two-thirds of the 4,237 agency workers who were summarily dismissed had a foreign passport, but by 2023 the proportion had grown to 83%.

The number of Dutch nationals went down from 1,307 to 1,162, while for foreigners and dual nationals the figure more than doubled, rising from 2,930 to 6,308.

The Dutch labour inspectorate sounded the alarm earlier this year about a handful of agencies where more than 20% of workers were summarily dismissed in multiple years.

In one case more than 80% of migrant workers hired by an agency supplying personnel to the meat production industry were sacked on the spot in 2021, compared to a national average of 0.56%.

Social affairs minister Eddy van Hijum said the misuse of summary dismissal was “unacceptable” and he was in talks with the inspectorate, tax office and the UWV to examine the reasons for the high numbers in some sectors.

“In the report from the labour inspectorate in which 13 employment agencies were subjected to closer scrutiny, the inspectorate estimated that the chance of administrative sloppiness being the cause was little to none,” Van Hijum said in his written reply to the SP. “I find that deeply concerning.”

Strict unfair dismissal laws in the Netherlands mean workers can only be sacked without pay if they commit criminal offences at work, such as theft or fraud, or refuse to work without a valid reason.

In other cases employers have to pay compensation of up to €94,000, depending on the worker’s salary and length of service.

Inspectors said the agency was systematically firing workers in order to avoid compensation costs. The inspectorate said the agencies using the illegal practice had saved between €1 million and €5 million in the last four years.