The Netherlands needs migrant workers in order to ensure the labour market works properly and companies continue to grow, Dutch employers organisations say in a new brochure.

On balance, the picture is positive and that image should not be influenced by negative examples, the VNO-NCW and MKB-Nederland say. ‘The solution [to the problems] is not to close the borders but tackle them, the Volkskrant quotes the document as saying.
Negative debate
The debate about migrant workers has been dominated in recent years by stories about exploitation, bad housing and low wages. Terms such as ‘tsunami’ are used by political parties of all colours to describe immigrants.
However, the greying population and looming shortage of good workers means the Netherlands must remain attractive to migrant labour, the report says. ‘That will deliver economic growth and will benefit all the Dutch,’ the report says.
In addition, employers need to be able to choose the best candidate from as wide a range of people as possible.’
The government is trying to stop farmers in particular from using workers from central and Eastern Europe, saying unemployed people should be given the jobs instead.