The economy is recovering much faster than expected now that the worst effects of the corona crisis are behind us. The growth is so fast that nine out of ten companies find it difficult to find staff. Yet another problem now threatens because if companies do not find employees, the economy will not be able to fully recover. The taxi sector is not the only sector where the problems are serious. The hospitality and construction sectors are also faced with a huge shortage of colleagues.

The shortage on the labor market varies from region to region. In the north of the country the problems are considerably smaller than in the south. Anyone who wants to order a bathroom in the south of the country today can do so immediately, but the installation will have to wait until spring 2022. A lack of trained professionals plays a part in this, but something else has been going on since the corona crisis. . Many have left the sector because there was no work and now that they have been retrained in another sector, they do not easily return. The competition is quite big. Your colleagues are looking for staff at the same time, so you'll have to put in more effort. 

"Employers who have maintained good contact with departed employees during the lockdown may be able to get them back more easily. But if not, it will be a bit more difficult."

better salary

This situation is not going to go away. Also interim workers are not the solution this time, because the card indexes are still far from being ready there either. Then what's going on? Offering a better salary is also not a solution for many who have left the sector. Many taxi drivers have finally said goodbye to the sector. Unemployment rates are extremely low and all sectors are clamoring for staff. Now that the collective labor agreement negotiations in the taxi sector are on the agenda, the unions are not really cooperating to solve the personnel problem. 

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While one group of entrepreneurs in the taxi sector realizes that the hourly wage must rise sharply to remain competitive in the labor market, the other group sees this as a death blow for their sector. The problems cannot be solved with a better wage alone. For the unions, the starting wage must be set at EUR 14 per hour and the wage steps must be revised in the coming years. In addition, they also want to tackle irregularity allowances. But there is also another problem in the sector. For years, the way in which entrepreneurs often deal with the remuneration and the associated requested availability of their personnel has been a thorn in the side of the unions.

"Many people have moved to other sectors and you don't get them back so quickly. As a result, there seem to be even greater shortages than before the crisis"

more permanent contracts

Society changes. Having a view on free time and not sitting on the couch waiting for them to be called up for a few rides plays a part. Many staff who worked on temporary contracts have turned to elsewhere, especially during the second lockdown. The shortage of drivers is increasing, employees who went to work elsewhere during corona time do not come back because the working conditions are now much better. We need to make better use of our labor reserve as soon as possible. Our country has a very large group of inactive people, people who do not work and are not actively looking for a job. You cannot activate all of them, because often it concerns people who have been struggling with illness or burnout for a long time.

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A year ago it seemed almost unthinkable. In construction, the staff shortage has never really gone away. Currently, 83% of builders are dealing with staff shortages. The landscaping industry has been trying to boost its image for a few years now with large-scale recruitment campaigns. In the first quarter of this year, the more than 350 municipalities in the Netherlands had a total of 6.427 vacancies, an absolute record. More than a third of childcare organizations still have a shortage of staff. The number of unfilled military vacancies at Defense exceeds 9.000. As a result, the armed forces now have a fill rate of 79%.

Also read: FNV, CNV and KNV ask OMT to relax healthcare transport

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