The Dutch Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment (SZW) approached Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands with a request to shed more light on the issue with regard to the work safety of migrant workers.
Another concern that was raised by the Ministry was whether the safety of migrant workers might be somehow related to their country of origin and the safety values,assumptions and expectations they bring from those countries.
Or whether it, perhaps, was a matter of adjustment, or language, which might explain why migrant workers currently seem to be more involved in accidents.
The latter suggestion is, of course, a subject of serious debate, since it is based on absolute numbers and in the absence of exposure rates, it is difficult to provide more definite statements about these numbers.
This study was con- ducted to try and shed light on these complex questions and to give, if feasible, any policy recommendations.
In the next section we first explore the research issue somewhat further.
We then present a brief discussion of relevant previous research. Then, the applied research methods, the results and conclusions based on these will follow.
Finally, a brief research agenda will be drafted, which might be of some use to define more focused research on migrant workers and safety in the next few years.