Although there is an increase in unemployment in Poland, there is still a demand for migrant workers, as there are many jobs that local people do not want to do
To date, unemployment in Poland has reached 6.1%, but thousands of jobs are still waiting for visitors, says Tomasz Dudek, Managing Director of OTTO Work Force, in a comment to the newspaper Country.
“Employers are waiting for Ukrainians, because despite the growth in unemployment, demand for workers from the East is still there. For example, in some areas it is difficult to replace them with Poles. We need temporary workers in warehouses and sorting companies,” explains Dudek.
Packers, loaders on construction sites and warehouse workers are most in demand in Poland today. Such work can provide migrants with salaries ranging from 600 to 1200 dollars. Recently, even Ukrainian businessmen have been attracted by these figures.
Just recently, Vladimir Zelensky appealed to Ukrainians living abroad to return to their homeland. The President invited them to open a business here and even promised state support. Coronavirus has corrected the already deplorable economic situation in Ukraine. Now entrepreneurs whose business has not survived the pandemic are fleeing the country.
“All that was left was to go to earn money,” said former businessman Andrey Myts.
Until recently, Mitz had a small cafe in Lviv, which brought a stable income. Now he is packing electronics parts at a warehouse in the Polish city of Lodz for 30 thousand hryvnias or a thousand dollars. At the same time, Mitz makes it clear that he has no desire to return to Ukraine.
“My goal is not to make money – I have savings for the first time – but to get connections, pull up my tongue and legalise myself here. I will try to open something of mine here with friends. I do not plan to return to Ukraine,” said the migrant.
Myc is not the only Ukrainian businessman who is now forced to look for work in Poland. According to Tomasz Bogdevicz from Gremi Personel employment agency, the trend is massive.
“Back in July, we saw businessmen and middle managers arriving from Ukraine in whole buses. And now the flow does not stop. They are looking for work at Polish factories in the food, furniture, electronics and logistics industries. They work where we take migrants”, says Bogdevic.