Ukrainian Labor Migrants in Poland: Challenges Caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

This article examines the situation of Ukrainian labor migrants during the Covid-19 pandemic, and shows how the pandemic and the resulting restrictions have affected the situation of Ukrainian citizens working in Poland. Thanks to the first anti-crisis measures undertaken by the Polish authorities at the very beginning of the pandemic, most of Ukrainians working in Poland were able to remain in the country, but their conditions of employment noticeably deteriorated. As the Polish economy “unfreezed”, the demand for migrant labor has been growing significantly, and faced with a shortage of workers a significant mber of employers has been ready to raise the wages of Ukrainians, for whom Poland is still the first country of destination.