Not just low-skilled work

"I have at least 50 vacancies that I cannot fill because Eastern Europeans cannot live in our area," says Nico Geerlings, director of the Noordwijkerhout-based Flexible Human Services. His employment agency targets migrant workers "And," he likes to add. "It's not just about low-skilled work."

The entrepreneur is balking at the situation and has therefore backed the Taskforce for the Housing of Migrant Workers (THA). This organization has written to all fourteen municipalities of the collaborative body Holland Rijnland in the hope that politicians will take up the housing issue. So far, without much success, and the Noordwijkerhou resident is feeling sorry for that.

Part of his disappointment has to do with the fact that agreements have not been fulfilled. In 2014, the Holland Rijnland municipalities agreed with the business community to create 4,250 living spaces for migrant workers by 2018. The number has stalled at about a thousand, some of which are also replacing beds in a place the municipality did not want to tolerate. In Geerlings' view, that doesn't really shoot up.

That poses an immediate problem for him, because native Dutch do not fill the vacancies either. "Unemployment is just low." For example, he went to Servicepunt Werk to "get people out of the card box. But no suitable workers were found at the agency that is supposed to help Dune and Bollenstreek residents find jobs. So he relies on migrant workers.

"The economy is picking up and there is no housing to be found," said Dennis van der Voort of THA. "There is plenty of work in the region and we can also find plenty of foreign workers. But if there is no housing for them, they won't come here."

And that costs money, he calculates. Because not only does the government lose money (annually about 1,800 euros per worker), but also the economy in general. A seasonal worker earns the economy about 2,000 euros per stay and a migrant who stays in the Netherlands for a few years averages 20,000 euros, according to figures from SEO Economic Research.

So municipalities must act quickly, the task force believes. At least 1,500 beds are needed in the Leiden region in the very short term to meet current demand. These must first be housed in larger (temporary) complexes. Should migrants wish to stay in the Netherlands, they must be able to find regular housing through the usual housing allocation system.

Municipalities should take into account that a large proportion of Eastern Europeans want to stay in the area, according to research presented yesterday by the Social and Cultural Planning Agency. Over three-quarters of Poles intend to stay in the Netherlands.

Housing construction is therefore necessary, Van der Voort argues. Because he thinks it is important that Eastern Europeans do not displace native Dutch people. And in the short term, more places must be designated in the region where large temporary housing complexes can be erected. Like in Noordwijkerhout where the Trampoline houses 140 migrants and in Katwijkerbroek where some 60 foreigners live.

Willem Weggeman of Homeflex erected the complex at Katwijk . Under the leadership of former mayor Jos Wienen, the municipality proved to be very proactive, he says. "Katwijk really wanted to help us. I also talked to other municipalities, such as Leiden, and there it is all a lot more difficult. So my appeal to municipalities in the Leiden region is: follow the example of Katwijk."