In the first half of this year. Ukrainians received 148 thousand. work permits in Poland. The preliminary data of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy shows that this is a decrease by 14,000, i.e. by almost 10%, compared to the same period last year. By nearly 40 percent the number of certificates regarding seasonal work has increased. Recently, there were 191 thousand, and before – 138 thousand. From January to June this year. 543,000 declarations on entrusting work to citizens of Ukraine were entered in the register. This, in turn, is over 220,000 less than in the first half of last year. The decline is less than 30 percent.
Farmers cannot do without Ukrainians …
/123RF/PICSEL
148 thou. Work permits for up to 3 years were obtained by Ukrainian citizens from January to June this year. However, in the same period last year, there were 162 thousand of them. These are statistics from the Central Analytical and Reporting System of the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Policy. But as ministerial analysts reserve, these are preliminary data that may slightly differ from the official ones.
– This decline is largely due to a pandemic. Before its outbreak, we saw a very high demand for foreign workers. It was at a record level last year, but it seemed that the demand this year will be even greater. However, the second half of March and April turned out to be a dead time in recruitment. But since June it has already changed dynamically – comments Marcin Kołodziejczyk, Director of International Recruitment of EWL Group.
In turn, Piotr Płusa, a labor market expert from the Adecco Group, points to 3 factors in the pandemic era. Firstly, some employers have revised their demand for foreign workers. So they withheld their employment decisions, but at the same time monitored the situation on the market. Second, there has been a significant slowdown in licensing. Offices were unavailable to clients for over a month and the work was done remotely. Thirdly, the COVID-19 special act made it possible to automatically extend, among others, permits during a pandemic.
– Data from the Border Guard indicate that from the end of March this year as many as 250,000 left Poland people. In connection with the provisions of the anti-crisis shield, some workers from Ukraine stayed with us. The law guaranteed them to extend their visas for the entire duration of the epidemic and 30 days after its end – says Monika Banyś, press spokesman for Personnel Service.
In the first half of this year, Ukrainian citizens were issued 191,000 seasonal work certificates. This, in turn, is more than from January to June 2019, when 138,000 were awarded. As noted by Piotr Płusa, the demand for seasonal workers in Poland is growing by about 7-8 percent year by year, especially in agriculture. Employers reported their needs to more employment agencies than usual. According to the expert, probably about 20-30 percent. of all certificates is an artificial surplus. She was triggered by concerns about a shortage of seasonal workers.
– After the introduction of the lockdown in Poland, there were layoffs. First of all, in automotive plants, large production companies or service companies. At the same time, there were quite a few seasonal jobs in agriculture. These offers were also used by people who were not interested in them in previous years. Then they chose employment, among others in the hotel industry or gastronomy – says director Kołodziejczyk.
As Monika Banyś emphasizes, farmers were one of the first groups to inform that without the Ukrainians, seasonal work would be very difficult. They start in April, and then there were much less employees. It was said about the outflow of approx. 200 thousand. people. However, already in June, there were proposals related to, among others with gastronomy, tourism and hotel industry. And it was this month that job offers that had not been published before accumulated. At that time, many Ukrainians who had hesitated before came to Poland.
– In late spring, we noticed an increased interest in the arrival of employees to Poland. This was due to the worse situation of the Ukrainian economy compared to ours. Some of the people who lost their jobs there decided to cross the border. Moreover, in agriculture there were some kind of facilitation when it comes to quarantine. And this was partly also used by employees – emphasizes the expert from EWL Group.
According to MRPiPS, in the first six months of this year. 543,000 declarations on entrusting work to Ukrainian citizens for up to 6 months were entered into the register. This is also preliminary data. However, in the same period last year, there were 765,000 of them. According to Monika Banyś, this decline is also a consequence of the coronavirus epidemic. People who were to move to Poland for only a few months and undergo a two-week quarantine, often postponed the decision to leave.
– Additionally, conversations with employers show the trend of attracting employees from the internal labor market instead of searching from beyond the eastern border. Apart from seasonal work, there are also fewer and fewer companies that will risk over 50 percent. internal employment of people not permanently associated with Poland. During the restrictions, they may have administrative problems in starting work or entering the country – says the expert of the Adecco Group.
The Ministry emphasizes that the number of declarations and issued permits should not be added to obtain the sum of working foreigners in a given year. A given person may have both documents. Moreover, the number of foreigners working in Poland should be increased by persons who are exempt from the need to obtain a work permit. These are, for example, holders of a permanent residence permit, Pole’s Card, as well as students and graduates of full-time studies in Poland.
– Unfortunately, there is no single data set, and there is also a huge gray area. Using various data, we can say that there are between 1.25 million and 2.1 million Ukrainian citizens in Poland. It is difficult to forecast how many of them will be on the labor market in the near future. It is strongly dependent on the pandemic situation in our country, the unemployment rate, new investments and the economic situation on foreign markets – emphasizes Piotr Płusa.
In turn, Marcin Kołodziejczyk cites data from the Central Statistical Office. They show that in Poland at the end of last year there were about 2.1 million foreigners, including 1.351 million citizens of Ukraine. This number probably fell at the turn of the first and second quarters. EWL Group estimates that there are currently between 1.2 million and 1.5 million foreigners in Poland. But a lot of Ukrainians come to the company. There is also a high demand for them. The expert forecasts that by the end of the year their number will return to the level from December last year. And it can even exceed it.
–
