At the request of the small Christian orthodox party, Christen Unie, sanctions against businesses appealing to child labor are going to be tougher. It is no longer simply a question of withdrawing State help for businesses working abroad (around €150 million annually), but to reimburse it and pay fines. This will be true even if the Dutch company isn’t directly responsible but turns a blind eye to the practices of one of its key local suppliers. Any company requesting State help will have to write a sworn statement that it isn’t appealing to child labor – at risk of fines otherwise. Thus, in textile, big manufacturers can no longer pretend that they can’t do anything against their subcontractors in Indonesia or China. “Children should be in school, to prepare their future” explained Maxime Verhagen, Minister for Foreign Affairs, when presenting the new system to the Parliament. He explained that he still needed to consult Minister for Economic Affairs Maria van der Hoeven before defining the modalities of the new penalties.
in Indonesia or China. “Children should be in school, to prepare their future” explained Maxime Verhagen, Minister for Foreign Affairs, when presenting the new system to the Parliament.
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