Several Limburg municipalities are under great work pressure because they receive refugees from Ukraine. As a result, other work is sometimes left behind, according to a tour of the NOS.
The Ukrainian refugee crisis has now lasted three months. Limburg municipalities now receive more than 2300 people from that country. The local authorities arrange, among other things, registration and emergency shelter. In addition, they try to assist Ukrainians with all kinds of practical help. For example, they pay living allowance, arrange interpreters and provide support in the search for a long-term residence and work. The NOS asked all municipalities in the Netherlands about their experiences with this.
Busy
Fourteen Limburg municipalities responded to the survey. Valkenburg aan de Geul, Stein, Heerlen, Roermond and Brunssum, among others, say that their civil service is under pressure. About three to five extra full-time employees could eliminate the problems, according to most municipalities. Of the municipalities surveyed, only Nederweert says that it does not experience any extra work pressure. There are currently 41 refugees registered in that place. In some Dutch municipalities, the extra tasks mean that regular services are jeopardized and so there is still work to be done.
Shortage on the labor market
Nine Limburg municipalities also say that the pressure has also increased at, for example, general practitioners and schools. “Schools have just come out of a difficult corona period and now have to teach children who do not speak the Dutch language,” explains a spokesperson for the municipality of Peel en Maas. The matter is complicated by the tight labor market. This makes it extra difficult to get enough manpower.
Also read: Shortage in the labor market: ‘quick’ solution is not forthcoming
Central role difficult
It is difficult for municipalities to provide reception centers and other measures without much help from the national government. “As a municipality, we are not equipped for the central role that we currently have to fulfill,” says a spokesperson for the municipality of Stein, for example. Earlier, Mayor De Boer van Roerdalen reacted furiously at L1 to the working method of the government: “A problem is being caused in The Hague and that is being put on the mayors’ plates. We can solve it here,” said a fierce mayor De Boer. . The NOS survey also shows that communication from the national government sometimes leaves something to be desired and that there is a lack of clear guidelines.
The spokesperson for Peel en Maas also points out that it is still unclear when and how financial compensation from the government will be arranged.
Reception places
A large part of the requested Limburg municipalities say that they still have sleeping places left to receive extra refugees. This is the case, for example, in Roermond, Peel en Maas and Venray. There is also the possibility to place even more beds than is currently the case. It is striking that there is undiminished support among the inhabitants to receive the refugees. Only in Heerlen is that not the case, according to the NOS poll.
It is difficult to estimate exactly how many refugees from Ukraine there are. They have no reporting obligation.
See here how many refugees from Ukraine each municipality receives.
Also read: In pictures: so many Ukrainians are registered in municipalities
Workers
Some of the Ukrainian refugees are working in our province. For example, in Gennep there are 6 out of 185 and in Beek 5 out of 25. However, it is not known everywhere how many people are at work, for example in Roermond. Refugees are approached proactively for this, the municipality said. Employers must report to the UWV if they employ a Ukrainian refugee.
The Netherlands
At a national level, about eight in ten municipalities say they feel the increased work pressure in the official organization. The biggest challenge was the great rush to arrange emergency shelter locations just after the start of the war. The NOS notes that almost all municipalities still have strong support for the reception of Ukrainian refugees. In addition, almost no municipality has to contend with nuisance caused by the refugees. This is indeed the case in Leudal, although it is not clear how this manifests itself.