Immigrant Policy
The existing minorities policy should be replaced by an immigrant policy aimed at making the relevant ethnic groups independent and less reliant on government services. This will depend to a large extent on their participation in the labour market, but that will call for investment in education, training and work, particularly because the number of immigrants in the Netherlands will continue to rise, the WRR says in its report Immigrant Policy (Report no. 36, 1989).
Integration policy as the key to immigrant policy
Since the WRR regards immigration as a permanent phenomenon, immigrants must be given greater opportunities to participate in Dutch society. A central feature of immigrant policy is integration policy, which should concentrate on the areas of employment, education and adult education. Immigrant policy should also include aliens policy and cultural policy.
Reducing unemployment is essential for a successful integration policy
Participation in the labour market is a fundamental requirement for a successful integration policy. Training and work-experience places are important in this respect, as is legislation to promote employment opportunities along the lines of Canada’s Employment Equity Act. The purpose of such a law would be to oblige employers to hire a proportionate number of immigrants.
The WRR produced this report at the request of the government.