They’re back in the dark again. First could the booming Asian restaurant sector in the Netherlands cannot find enough specialized chefs. That is why Minister Asscher (Social Affairs, PvdA) concluded the ‘wok agreement’ in 2014, which made it easy for the sector to fly in these specialists. Between 2016 and 2021, the Immigration Service IND granted more than five thousand applications. And then the Labor Inspectorate now discovers that large-scale abuse has been made of this scheme. She found exploitation, false papers, dishwashers pretending to be a cook, people smuggling.
The Inspectorate has now transferred a number of files to the Public Prosecution Service for further criminal investigation. According to the Ministry of Justice and Security, nearly 600 permits for Asian personnel have been revoked in the past five years. Minister Koolmees (Social Affairs, D66) temporarily suspended the ‘wok scheme’ last year. NRC reported extensively on Friday.
Liping Lin is chairman of the largest Asian hospitality industry association in the Netherlands (Association of Chinese-Asian Horeca Entrepreneurs, VCHO). In that position she represents 1,300 members. She says she is surprised by the findings of the Labor Inspectorate in a sector with 2,500 companies.
“At the beginning of last year we became aware that there were signs of abuse within the industry, following the investigation by journalists from Investico. Now there are apparently new findings from the Labor Inspectorate. I absolutely do not recognize that there are large numbers of criminal labor exploitation cases in the Asian catering industry.
“I have never encountered any criminal offenses and I have heard nothing about abuses by our members. If it were, we would immediately distance ourselves from it and suspend these members. Any abuse is one too many.”
How do you monitor your members?
“Normally, the Labor Inspectorate contacts us if it encounters serious cases. That hasn’t happened now. Of course, there are always bad apples in the industry. We talk to members and provide information. We are increasingly providing information about Dutch employment law, including via Chinese social media. The rest of the control task rests with the government.”
The Labor Inspectorate states that cook certificates are forged and unqualified cooks are smuggled into the Netherlands. Is this correct?
“We see that restaurants and chefs are wrongly accused of fraud. Some restaurants have even been ruled in favor by the judge in these cases.
“The question is how you assess the authenticity of a certificate. There is a central assessment system for chef’s certificates in China. But the Dutch embassy is questioning chefs and meddling with what kind of dishes they should be able to make. According to them, everything is not right.”
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How do you respond to that?
“We are in talks with the Ministry of Social Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Labor Inspectorate and the UWV about the return of the visa regime. With as many precautions as possible to prevent abuse. For example, you could have the chefs in China do a practical test for an extra stamp.”
Can’t you easily forge such an extra stamp?
“The system is now also susceptible to fraud. That is why there must be a new one.”
Is it important to maintain that cook arrangement? Are there not enough Asian chefs now?
“Legalization is important because it allows you to monitor better. I dare not say whether there would be more abuses without the regulation, but there must be more control mechanisms.”
Is it true that chefs in the Netherlands disappear into illegality when their catering period is over?
“I did not experience that directly. Life in the Netherlands is not simply better. China is developing enormously, wages have risen.
“And I see a young generation of entrepreneurs in the Netherlands who are doing very well. Restaurants used to be open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day. Now they work shorter hours and are closed one day a week. They have machines so that you no longer have to carry heavy wok pans, the frying is automated and even the operation.”
A version of this article also appeared in the newspaper of May 7, 2022