Poland recently decided to shut its borders for foreigners. Polish people can still come to the country, but have to be quarantined for two weeks first. Reason for most of them to stay in the Netherlands.
Vice versa, new supply of Polish labour migrants to the Netherlands is a challenge now, due to logistical problems, according to several job agencies. The rearranging of demand and supply will be their biggest challenge.
"These are tense times" says Roland Volmuller with HolandiaJobs with a sense of understatement. He started a recruitment agency for Polish labour migrants and has 1000 of them working in the Netherlands. "My biggest concern now is how I can get demand and supply to meet again."
Photo right: Roland Vollmuller
New supply from Poland when possible
The Dutch borders aren't closed yet. So now there seems to be a need for extra hands in all kinds of sectors, the import of new Polish labour migrants seems to be a good option. "Certainly", confirms Roland. "The people here want to, but transportation is our biggest challenge at the time. A lot of the smaller businesses with 8 or 9 people vans don't go to the Netherlands anymore. The largest bus company we work with does, but the question is how long that's going to last."
Stayers
In the Netherlands, the job agencies have their hands full with the virus issues as well, and its consequences on labour. Axidus had a crisis meeting. Ron van Loenen: "We value good communication with our employers and our workers. We directly addressed our workers, asking them if they wanted to stay or not. 25, 30 people decided to go home, the rest of them chose to stay in the Netherlands."
Photo right: Ron van Loenen, Axidus
Roland didn't see Polish people rushing back to Poland en masse either. "I'm not in their shoes, but quitting your job in the Netherlands, going into quarantine in Poland, and then having to find a job in Poland, that can't be easy. Though the domestic economy in Poland still runs quite good. The panic is big, and Poland most of all doesn't want to go to the Italian or Spanish scenario."
Axidus filed an application with their Polish office, to let people come this way. "We mostly supply workers to the food industry, and people don't stop eating. So we aren't hit as hard. In other job agency sectors it's a different story."
Photo right: Rayif Ayyildiz, Voorne Putten Uitzendbureau
From ornamentals to fruit and vegetables
Like the ornamental sector. Rayif Ayyildiz with Voorne Putten Uitzendbureau: "The demand in the fruit and vegetable sectors doesn't decrease, but in the ornamental sector it does. To be able to keep the people working who were canceled in the ornamentals due to corona, we can give them a job in the food sector. Luckily we can still provide them with work."
Roland got serious orders from among others the chicken processing industry and food processors. "'Send them over', they yell, because there's such a shortage of staff."
"Polish, Hungarian and Latvian workers are coming this way as well. There's more cancellations than usual, of course. We take those into account."
For more information:
Axidus
+31 (0174) 21 94 90
info@axidus.com
Voorne Putten Uitzendbureau
tel +31 (0174) 29 45 00
info@voorneputten.nu
HolandiaJobs
www.holandiajobs.pl
Roland Vollmuller
roland@holandiajobs.pl