Koninklijke Horeca Nederland (KHN) has criticised security regions and local authorities for the lack of consistency in the monitoring of coronavirus measures in catering establishments (Horeca) across the Netherlands.
The KHN is the largest union representing hospitality businesses in the Netherlands, representing over 20.000 establishments across the country. The KHN chairman, Robèr Willemsen, spoke to Dutch news station BNR about the implementation of coronavirus rules in the Netherlands.
Willemsen told BNR that there was too much “arbitrariness” in checking compliance with existing coronavirus measures in the Dutch hospitality industry, stating that it depended too greatly on which municipality or security region the business operated in. He believes the inconsistency in the regulation of coronavirus rules results in business owners not knowing where they stand, and forces them to walk on eggshells.
According to Willemsen, the regulation and enforcement of coronavirus rules by local authorities is quick and strong for small violations, in spite of the fact that figures suggest there are very few coronavirus infections within the hospitality industry. “We must prevent excesses, but not maintain them in this way,” he says, stating that more attention should be paid to the economic difficulties businesses are facing across the country.
The KHN has already expressed dissatisfaction with plans to tighten coronavirus measures for the hospitality industry in Amsterdam should infections continue to rise. Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema announced plans for stricter measures for restaurants and bars in the Dutch capital, stating at a press conference on August 18 that businesses would be shut down after only one warning.
The union also lost a court case against the Dutch State last week, after arguing that the Dutch government should relax the existing rules for the hospitality industry. It also argued that the hospitality was treated unfairly in comparison to other sectors. The judge ruled the government did not have to relax the rules.