LETTERS Popular refugees
Sir: 'Moving towards freedom' (Leader, 16 September) rightly mentions the be- nefits to Western Europe of accepting refugees from Eastern Europe. Chancel- lors Kohl and Vranitzky, both in charge of countries with a declining birth rate and economies geared to growth, agree. It is anticipated that tax as well as health and life insurance receipts will increase, signifi- cantly outstripping the higher social costs of integration. Various institutes and think-tanks have already released esti- mates to convince the frightened and scep- tical. On the industrial front the consumer goods and construction sectors will be the main beneficiaries.
It is the labour market, however, that is making the most headlines, especially in the financial and quality press, as person- nel directors rush to the reception camps, offering candidates free sausages and beer, or, more usefully, assistance with accom- modation. Since the middle of August, for example, some 1,500 refugees arriving in the Westphalian camp SchOppingen have found work. Over 2,500 vacancies were registered with the job centre responsible. Demand is not confined to German indus- try. Dutch, Belgian, even British recruiters have been scouting the camps.
The refugees are popular with em- ployers, often more so than the 1.9 million indigenous unemployed in West Germany. They are highly motivated, more in- terested in money than job titles, not in a hurry to join a union, and, being uprooted, geographically mobile. Many, such as masons, mechanics, midwives, nurses etc., have skills increasingly rare in the West. Also, they do not have to give three months' notice.
The potential economic benefits of accepting refugees are considerable, but, when we reach the bottom line, more a utilitarian justification of secondary im- portance to the central issue of freedom of movement.
Andreas von Schoenberg
Belgradstrasse 5a, Munich, West Germany
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