Call by employers’ organisations: Belarusians should be allowed to quickly legalise their stay and take up employment immediately after crossing the border

CALL BY EMPLOYERS’ ORGANISATIONS:
BELARUSIANS SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO QUICKLY LEGALISE THEIR STAY AND TAKE UP EMPLOYMENT IMMEDIATELY AFTER CROSSING THE BORDER

In connection with the unprecedented influx of war refugees to Poland, the government has prepared a special law providing for special conditions for Ukrainians to legalise their stay and take up employment. As a result, hundreds of thousands more people crossing the border can immediately seek employment fully legally, thereby gaining financial independence from state aid.

A significant number of people coming to Poland from Ukraine are women, while in the last few weeks, some of them have travelled in the opposite direction. Around 100,000 men have returned to their country to defend it against Russian aggression. As a result, due to the structure of employment (predominance of men) resulting from the nature of tasks performed by employees, some sectors of the Polish economy face a serious problem of lack of labour.

Given the above and considering the ongoing war, we have received signals about many Belarusians planning to flee the country for fear of further repression and mass conscription. Thus, we call on the government to introduce an amendment to the special law, allowing swift legalisation of residence and employment also for Belarusians according to the same rules as Ukrainians. In this way, we will succeed in responding to the Polish economy’s needs and striking against Lukashenko’s regime.

See the full call.