Press conference participants: Andrzej Drozd, Pavel Kulaga, Vasyl Voskoboynyk, Tatyana Gomon (organizer), Witold Kraus
The Polish economy, characterized by one of the highest growth rates in the EU, at about 5% of GDP per year, given the acute labor shortage, largely depends on workers from Ukraine, whose flow has rapidly increased due to Russian aggression and the deep economic crisis it caused.
What trends are observed on the Polish labor market through the prism of workers from Ukraine and how to improve legal regulations regarding the employment of foreigners in Poland? This and other issues were discussed at a press conference dedicated to the public campaign "Partnership and Employment," which took place in Warsaw. Polskie Radio published excerpts from this meeting.
At the press conference, Deputy Head of the Polish-Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce Andrzej Drozd cited disappointing data from a survey conducted by his organization:
– 93% of firms surveyed are interested in employing foreigners for more than 9 months, 83% of surveyed firms choose to employ foreigners due to the lack of persons with the necessary qualifications. Due to complex hiring procedures, 77% of firms did not employ foreigners, and 29% report losing orders or contracts due to the inability to employ foreigners in Poland.
Perhaps the biggest headache for Polish employers is the opening of the labor market, aimed primarily at Ukrainians, which Germany plans to do as early as January next year. Present at the press conference, the head of the Committee on Immigration and Employment Pavel Kulaga, representing the Polish side in this body, noted what changes Germany is considering:
– What will the legal employment regime in Germany be based on? It is the possibility of legal stay in Germany for six months, with the opportunity to search for work. After work is found, based on an employment contract, legalization of further stay in the country will be carried out. All this should be supported by the actions of the German government, namely by teaching foreigners the German language. The Goethe Institute will be involved in this process. Thus, training will be conducted both outside Germany and within the country. Procedures should be simplified, and an advertising and marketing campaign will be conducted to attract workers.
Previously, legally, based on the "Blue Card," mandatory in the EU, several thousand Ukrainians worked in Germany. It was very difficult to meet the requirements for obtaining it. Among other things, it meant a high income level of over 50 thousand euros per year, and also higher education. Now they will move away from these.
The expert suggested what awaits Poland in connection with the liberalization of the German labor market:
– Probably, several hundred thousand Ukrainian workers will leave Poland. Moreover, it seems to me that these will be the most valuable personnel, inclined to try their luck beyond our western border, those who have already settled with us to some extent. These are people who have acquired technical skills and work experience at Polish enterprises, who have a fairly high technical level of knowledge. We will lose real specialists who have won a position [in our country]. But an increase in wages by two to three times will certainly incline them to try themselves beyond the western border.
Understandably, revenues to the Social Insurance Fund and the Tax Inspectorate will decrease. Currently, 400 thousand Ukrainians are registered in the Social Insurance Fund. In addition, Ukrainians constitute a large group of consumers on which banks and mobile operators have focused their attention. Ukrainians contribute to the growth of our GDP every day. The Association of Entrepreneurs and Employers assumes that if half a million Ukrainian workers leave Poland, this will lead to a decrease in Polish GDP by 1.5%. These are really serious figures.
Most likely, Ukrainian workers will leave gradually. Obviously, not everyone will leave at once, but over time, as more people find work beyond the German border, the number of departures will increase, and Polish entrepreneurs will feel the shortage of labor even more acutely.
In turn, the Ukrainian side's representative on the Committee on Immigration and Employment, Vasyl Voskoboynyk, criticized the work of Polish employment agencies in attracting workers from Ukraine:
– Unfortunately, still many businessmen from Poland believe that it is enough to invite Ukrainians to work in Poland and they will come. This is no longer enough, because Ukrainians live in a different reality. Ukrainians, if they themselves choose where to go, will choose countries where they can quickly earn a lot of money. And therefore, now, if Poland does not want to lose these people who may go to other countries, it is necessary to conduct advertising campaigns, it is necessary to advertise Poland as a country where Ukrainians can calmly earn money, where they can feel protected, almost like at home.
At the same time, Witold Kraus, head of the Association for Legal Intervention, commented on the possibility of solving the problem of the outflow of Ukrainian workers through labor from Asian countries:
– They say that workers from Ukraine could be replaced by workers from other countries. We see an increase in the number of work permits for representatives of other nations. However, this growth may be conditional. As I learned from employees of the Department for Foreigners, many people come to Poland from Asian countries on the basis of a work permit, and then disappear from Poland quite quickly. Poland is not a very attractive country in terms of earnings. Then these people illegally leave for the West. Among them are citizens of India and Nepal. Besides, recruiting a worker from there is very expensive, and the waiting time is very long. The average time between finding a worker and obtaining a permit for legal entry into Poland is about 8-9 months, and sometimes longer. Few employers will go for that.
The expert calls for radical steps to solve the problem of effective employment of foreigners in Poland:
– First, it is necessary to change the entire system – not to redo or modify it, but to completely rebuild it. On the one hand, focusing on its flexibility, on trust in migrants and employers, on legal employment, rather than emphasizing any punishments. Punishment leads nowhere. The focus should be on fast and legal employment. A person who comes to Poland on the basis of a work permit or a declaration of employment, after two years of legal work, should benefit from a simplified procedure for legal stay, say, for the next 10 years, to be able to take up employment with any employer.