A simplified procedure introduced last year to grant Ukrainian refugees easier access to the labour market has been used over 900,000 times, Poland’s family and social policy minister, Marlena Maląg, has announced.
Maląg welcomed the growing Ukrainian workforce, which “complements our labour market” and “pays taxes here in Poland”. However, experts have also noted that the war in Ukraine has resulted in the departure of some Ukrainian workers, mainly men who returned home to defend their country.
After the Russian invasion a year ago, Poland became the main destination for refugees fleeing the conflict, with millions crossings its border. By October, it was estimated that around one million remained in the country, 45% of them women and 46% children. They joined around a million Ukrainian immigrants already in Poland.
Around one million Ukrainian refugees remain in Poland, according to analysis of public data by @MaciekDuszczyk and @BartoszMarczuk.
Around 91% of them are women (45%) and children (46%) https://t.co/NwmEuwygJv
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) October 14, 2022
In March 2022, the government, with opposition support, introduced a simplified procedure for Ukrainians to take up work in Poland. Rather than having to seek a work permit, their employer would simply have to notify the authorities of their employment
By May, over 100,000 Ukrainians had taken advantage of the new system, rising to around 400,000 by October. Speaking last week, Maląg announced that the system had now been used over 900,000 times.
She emphasised that, under the special law, refugees from Ukraine receive the same rights as Poles to legally reside, work and apply for benefits in Poland. The minister also noted that the government had launched a number of initiatives to encourage and assist refugees to enter the labour force.
Around 160,000 Ukrainian refugees have found work in Poland so far, filling gaps in the labour market.
But with many taking low-skilled jobs, their potential may be wasted unless more is done to help them find work that matches their skills, warn experts https://t.co/6hpNFjZgRa
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) June 1, 2022
Ukrainian nationals in Poland most often work in the hospitality and services sector, noted Maląg. Last month, a report showed that 14,000 businesses were created by Ukrainians in Poland in the first nine months of last year.
Before the war, the majority of Ukrainian workers in Poland – an estimated 70% – were male, according to Maląg. However the conflict has led to an increase in the number of Ukrainian women in Poland, many having fled with their children. Most men are barred from leaving Ukraine during the war.
The family and social policy ministry notes that this demographic shift means that “in order for them [Ukrainian women] to be able to work, childcare must be provided. This has been done successfully, with the introduction of changes to the childcare system for children under the age of three.”
Almost 14,000 businesses were created by Ukrainians in Poland in the first nine months of 2022, reports @PIE_NET_PL
In April their number tripled after the government allowed Ukrainians to run businesses on the same terms as Poles https://t.co/Gm0VfLeAIv
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) January 12, 2023
The ban on men leaving Ukraine, as well as the fact many who were previously in Poland returned home after the outbreak of war, has caused problems in parts of the Polish economy that were previously heavily reliant on male Ukrainian workers, such as the construction, manufacturing and transport sectors.
“The war in Ukraine has limited the employment of its citizens on the labor market in Poland, which was most severe in those market segments where men dominated,” Krzysztof Inglot of Personnel Service, an employment agency, told Strefa Biznesu last week.
However, overall the number of foreign workers has continued to rise, passing one million – or 6.5% of the workforce – last year. Poland has in recent years experienced levels of immigration unprecedented in its history and among the highest in the European Union.
There are now over one million foreign workers registered in Poland’s social insurance system for the first time.
It follows years of mass immigration that has been among the largest in Europe, as well as the recent influx of Ukrainian refugees https://t.co/j17lKzFbjZ
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) January 16, 2023
Main image credit: MRIPS (under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 PL)
Anna Hackett is an assistant editor at Notes from Poland. She is a recent graduate of European Studies from Trinity College Dublin and has had previous journalistic experience with the Irish Independent News & Media group.
