Poland's neglected labour resource?
PR dla Zagranicy
Victoria Bieniek
09.10.2018 08:27
Poland should activate its long-term unemployed, stay-at-home mothers, and the disabled, a government MP has said as the labour ministry considers incentives for migrant workers.
Image: geralt/pixabay.com/CC0 Creative Commons
Some two million foreigners, mainly Ukrainians, are already employed in Poland, according to the ministry for labour and social policy.
According to public broadcaster Polish Radio, the ministry is considering new incentives for migrants from other countries.
But Józefina Hrynkiewicz, an MP from the ruling conservative Law and Justice party told the public broadcaster: "We need to remember those who are long-term unemployed. There are about one million such people. It is also important to notice stay-at-home mothers. In that case, good quality care for their children would be a solution. The greatest resource is among people with mental illness and disability. These are the people we should prioritise."
She added that activating those parts of the domestic workforce would require only slightly more effort than finding workers in Asia or Africa.
Hrynkiewicz, a professor of sociology at Warsaw University, said that about 2.5 million people left Poland in search of a better life in the last 27 years – roughly the time that Poland has been a democratic country. She said the government should focus on bringing them back. (vb/pk)
Source: PR24