Employment agencies exploit Ukrainian refugees: they violate the terms of contracts, do not pay wages and do not allow vacations.
In the Czech Republic, employment agencies exploit Ukrainian refugees, they punish workers for leaving work without permission, violate the terms of contracts and do not allow them to take vacations.
This was reported by journalist Kristina Weinbender in her investigation, which was published by Investigace.cz.
One of the cases described in the investigation concerns Dmitry Druzhinin, who came to the Czech Republic two years ago. He worked as a hostel manager through the Pokrov International agency in Pilsen. Over the course of a year, he received only two days of vacation and did not receive overtime pay. After his dismissal, the agency did not pay him his last month's wages.
The remaining workers also confirmed that the agency did not pay them for their last month of work. The investigation noted that more than ten complaints were filed against the agency over the course of a year.
Employment agencies significantly exploit refugees by reducing their wages due to various fines, housing costs, or by setting a minimum wage in the contract, although in fact they pay more. Officially, a third of refugees in the Czech Republic work through such agencies, but Czech journalists believe that this figure may be as much as half.
They act as intermediaries, helping to find cheap labor. Qualified workers have a better chance of finding work directly with an employer, while agencies focus on refugees with low qualifications. Ukrainians who have lived in the Czech Republic for a long time but have not been able to integrate and find work in the local labor market also work through agencies.
Control over the activities of agencies in the Czech Republic is complicated, since the labor inspectorate has limited ability to conduct inspections, and refugees often do not file lawsuits in court due to the lengthy bureaucratic process. The situation may be improved by a new law requiring agencies to have a representative to protect the rights of refugee workers, but there are already cases where these representatives have been bribed. There are currently over 353,000 Ukrainian refugees in the Czech Republic, and humanitarian aid for their families may be increased from August.
Recall that from September 1, Ukrainians without temporary protection will be able to work in Lithuania only after receiving a residence permit.
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