Construction and tourism alone provide over a million jobs. If we start to demolish the possibility of employing foreigners in industries focused on seasonal workers with some unwise regulations, who will fill such a hole? – said Krzysztof Paszyk, Minister of Development and Technology, in the program “One on One” on TVN24.
The head of the Ministry of Development was asked about the new concept of regulating the employment of foreigners, which is a result of the visa scandal.
– Agriculture is probably another million jobs, where seasonal workers are also used. This is almost half a million companies, it's their life or death. This needs to be analyzed coolly, translated into specific situations – said the minister.
– In the Polish economy, construction, tourism and agriculture are largely based on seasonal workers who come to Poland from abroad – he said.
– Every obstacle today, including in access to foreigners, will result in the fact that not any programs will hit prices on the housing market, but the problem of access to employees. I do not know why the originators do not look more broadly at the problem of the impact of such solutions on the economy, on the condition of companies and also on the labor market, because paradoxically I warned Minister Dziemianowicz-Bąk last week that these solutions will paradoxically hit the situation on the labor market, the situation of employees, very hard – he said.
Government dispute over employment of foreigners
According to the bill’s initiator – the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy – the new rules on the employment of foreigners are intended to streamline the regulations specifying the conditions for foreigners’ access to the labour market and to improve the effectiveness of these regulations.
The Ministry wants a new act on the employment of foreigners to come into force on 1 January 2025, which provides for, among other things, the prevention of employee outsourcing and an increase in the role of public employment services in the process of issuing work permits.
Ministry of Development and Technology and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development are opposed to the limits on work permits for foreigners proposed by the Ministry of Family and Labor.
Jakub Bińkowski from the Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers in an interview with PAP in mid-August assessed that although the project included changes aimed at reducing the bureaucracy of procedures regarding the legalization of the stay of foreigners and accelerating the proceedings, there were also several solutions that would be problematic from the point of view of companies supporting employers who employ foreigners and bring them in.
This includes high penalties for illegal employment of foreigners, which – according to the provisions of the bill – will amount to PLN 500 to 30 thousand. According to the ZPP, the amount of penalties is excessive. There are also cases where illegal employment is the result of unawareness or administrative shortcomings. The ZPP also has doubts about, among other things, the provision regarding the amount of fees for a declaration of employment of a foreigner, which is to be dependent on the minimum wage and established by way of a regulation, which – according to the ZPP – introduces uncertainty as to the actual costs.
The entry into force of the new act is also part of a milestone provided for in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (KPO). According to the KPO, the act on the employment of third-country nationals is to reduce administrative barriers in the employment of foreigners.
Main image source: TVN24