The national and European governments must be more active in managing future labour migration, the Dutch Scientific Council for Government Policy WRR says in a new report.

The popular position that labour migration is necessary to offset the greying of the population needs to be looked at closely, the WRR says. And the ‘other side’ of immigration – such as the nuisance caused to the native population – also needs taking into account, the report states.
For example, migrant labour can be cheaper for employers at the bottom end of the jobs market, and that impacts on the native population as well, the researchers say.
‘Employers and government should also do more to ensure labour migrants remain employable in the long term, such as by investing in education and language skills,’ the WRR says.
The FNV trade union federation is currently campaigning against the use of cheap migrant labour on temporary contracts to replace Dutch workers.
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