Emigration: From Guest Worker to Economic Refugee

In the 1950s and 60s, today's economic refugees were called Guest Workers. The first immigrant workers came mainly from Italy and SpainWith immigrant workers working people in the Netherlands are meant who temporarily come to another country to perform work there. The motives are almost always economic: there were too few workers to keep the factories running and in the home country there was one too short of work.

Around 1930, it concerned about 12,000 foreigners, who mainly came from Germany, Slovenia and Poland. During the 1930s crisis, this number declined sharply, to around 3,900 foreign immigrant workers in 1939. Already in 1949, after the conclusion of a recruitment agreement, the first Italian immigrant workers came to the Netherlands. This was then done on their own initiative or through targeted invitations from Dutch manufacturers and entrepreneurs. From the early 1950s, the economic situation in the Netherlands began to improve, causing a need for more staff, especially in industry and business. The Italians, until 1963, came to Limburg about 3,000 to 4000, mainly went to work in the mines in Limburg. By the way, many immigrant workers were already working in the Limburg mines before 1945. From 1955, in addition to the mines, other Dutch companies were allowed to recruit Italian immigrant workers. They mainly worked in the Randstad, including in the industry in Leiden, the ports of Rotterdam and Amsterdam, the Hoogovens at IJmuiden and in the textile industry in Twente.

It has been 52 years since the Netherlands and Morocco signed a 'recruitment convention'. In it it was agreed how Moroccan immigrant workers could come to the Netherlands and what they received in return. Immigrant workers were actively recruited in Morocco by the Dutch government, which had a kind of recruitment agency on the spot.

Guest workers have fun in a home for immigrant workers in Rotterdam. Volunteers teach them in the Dutch language. With further images of Juan Maneiro from Spain at work and during Dutch class and Achmed Moktari from Morocco at work as a solder and on the market.

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