During the Ciett General Assembly on 27 May, Fred van Haasteren was awarded the title of Honorary President of Ciett, the international confederation of private employment services. The title reflects the gratitude of the Ciett Board and all Ciett members for his service and his outstanding achievements to the benefit of the employment and recruitment industry around the world. It is the second time in Ciett’s 48 year existence that the title was awarded.

Fred van Haasteren had been President of Ciett until May 2014, and was a member of the Ciett Board for over two decades, also having previously held the position of President of Eurociett, the European arm of Ciett between 1990-2005. As an expert in international labour relations, van Haasteren contributed greatly to the debate about appropriate regulation of the industry, both in the ILO and other international fora.

Van Haasteren worked for Randstad since 1982, and has been the Randstad Holding’s Executive Vice‐President Social & General Affairs from 1990-2011. As Vice‐President of ABU (1986‐1990), the Dutch association of agency work employers, and as a member and chair on behalf of the employers of the negotiations‐body of the collective agreement for agency work (1984‐1999), Fred van Haasteren contributed much to the development and acceptance of agency work in the Netherlands. He is viewed as one of the architects and creators of the Flexicurity deal (1996), which safeguarded the position of agency work in the Netherlands and paved the way for a more secure future. On his retirement as a member of the board of Randstad in 2012 he was appointed as an officer in the order of Orange-Nassau.