100.000 Ukrainian refugees employed in Poland, more than 50.000 in the Czech Republic

In Poland, out of almost 3,5 million war refugees from Ukraine who found refuge in that country or went to another country, 102.000 have found employment so far, while in the Czech Republic, out of over 300.000 refugees from Ukraine, more than 50.000 of them are working. The Polish Ministry of Labor estimates that over time about 700.000 Ukrainian refugees will be employed, probably more, since the 102.000 of them mentioned in the statistics are those who found legal work and were registered by employers, while some work illegally. "I have never gotten a legal job. When I ask about a contract, they tell me that the taxes are high and that I will earn better if they give me a hand," Ukrainian Olena from Kharkiv, who has been in Poland with her children since the beginning of March, told Gazeta Viborcha. Half of employed refugees found the simplest jobs in Poland that do not require qualifications. According to the estimates of the Polish Center for Migration Studies at the end of April, of the 3,2 million Ukrainians who crossed the Polish borders, 1,55 million have actually remained in the country, while the authorities estimate about two million, most of whom are women with children. Minors, i.e. persons under the age of 18, represent half of all refugees who have crossed the Polish borders. Over 300.000 refugees have sought refuge in the neighboring Czech Republic since the war in Ukraine, and the Czech Republic has issued over 342.000 visas that allow them the so-called temporary shelter, residence, paid health insurance, accommodation, social assistance and the possibility to look for work without a work permit. "According to estimates from the region, there are about 200.000 refugees left in the Czech Republic. The rest left the Czech Republic, but we are not a border country so we can see if they have returned to Ukraine. The European IT system should start functioning at the request of the Czech Republic by May 31 from which our police officers will have insight into how many people have returned," said Minister of the Interior Vit Rakušan. The Labor Bureau of the Czech Republic announced that more than 50.000 refugees from Ukraine have found work to date. "Most often they work in assembly and factories, in auxiliary jobs, in construction, traffic and as cleaners. One of the biggest obstacles to finding a job in professions in which qualifications are required is lack of knowledge of the language," said the director of the Labor Bureau, Viktor Najmon. Even Ukrainian doctors or nurses, whose help would be welcomed by the Czech health system, cannot do their work, but they are allowed to help diagnose and compare Ukrainian and Czech medicines, even as assistants to doctors. "It's great that here, Ukrainian refugees are joining the labor market to such an extent. If we keep in mind that around 40 percent of all refugees are children, 50.000 employed refugees is a really large number. These refugees are filling jobs that they could not find for a long time. find people," said Czech Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Marijan Jurečka.