Brussels’ one-sided view of labor migration
If it is up to the European Commission, additional workers from countries such as Morocco, Egypt and Tunisia could come to European countries this year. demographer Jan Latten takes a critical look at the underlying data and sees that the Netherlands has much better alternatives. He calls on Brussels and The Hague to finally come up with a long-term vision for population growth.
Jan Latten (1952) is a sociologist and demographer. He was chief demographer of Statistics Netherlands and professor of social demography. Is a popular speaker and
essayist. He writes a monthly demographic essay for emagazine.nl.
According to the Brussels experts, more migrant workers are absolutely necessary. Figures from the European Statistical Office Eurostat non-uniform results of millions of European Union residents looking for a job that can work more hours.
The Brussels proposal does not seem to get much support in the Netherlands: directly criticized. ‘The Netherlands must stop migrant workers’, according to the Labor Inspectorate† Especially and employment agencies seem enthusiastic about the employers of labor migration, the costs to society are. Ingrid Thijssen, chairman of VNO-NCW, is mainly satisfied with the plans of the European Commission. ‘We are short of people on the labor market on all sides. Not only now, but also in the future because we are aging.’
Boat refugees become labor migrants
In the Brussels proposal, it should become for North Africans to migrate to Europe for work. European shortages of works are cited as the main argument. By focusing on North Africans, the aim is to solve the problem of boat refugees by turning them into migrant workers. In fact Brussels data regarding that so far are many economic refugees.
However, the Brussels proposal is illogical, because it will not reduce boat refugees. Why would an airplane route for a job in Europe prevent the remaining fortune-seeking North Africans from making their turn over by boat? The Brussels plan will mainly provide an extra route to encourage an increase in migration from Africa.
Not thought through and misplaced, especially for the Dutch situation
Additional labor migrants from other parts of the world are unnecessary for the Dutch situation. After all, like every year, migrant workers, expats, their family members and refugees from all parts of the world come to work here, this year with tens of thousands of Ukrainians. If the Ukrainians remain for the time being, residents of the Netherlands in 2022 to make my own estimate with at least 140,000 new inhabitants. The highest number since the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) count.
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