THE HAGUE, 18/10/03 - There should not be a separate policy to encourage admitted refugees to get work. But to improve their situation, a tightening-up and better implementation of the existing policy is needed, the Council for Work and Incomes (RWI) advised Friday in recommendations to the government.

About 30 percent of the nearly 200,000 refugees admitted to the Netherlands are unemployed. Among those that do have a job, around half are working in too low a post for their knowledge and skills. The RWI termed the contacts of refugees - the large majority, men - with the Dutch labour market problematic.

Despite the specific problems of refugees, no separate labour market policy should be developed for this group, according to the RWI. The advisory body, in which local authorities, employers and unions are represented, says the group is too diverse for separate policy. At the same time, "their problems show too much overlap with those of other ethnic minorities," for whom no separate policy applies either.

To improve labour market participation of admitted refugees, what skills they have should be investigated at an early stage. Additionally, courses and work should be combined more frequently, and integration courses should be made less general and focus increasingly on the individual refugee.