Despite obstacles, Ukrainian refugees return to work
Language barrier, tensions with the local population and professional downgrading do not prevent Ukrainian women from integrating professionally in Poland.
Viktoria and Olha come from Popasna, a small town in Ukraine’s Luhansk region, which was only a dozen kilometers from the Russian separatist-controlled territory as of 2014.
Vera is from Mariupol, a town in the Donetsk region, which was twenty-five kilometers from the Russian separatist-controlled territory as of 2014.
When a full-scale war broke out in Ukraine in February 2022, their towns were among the first to get hit by Russian bombs. Mariupol and Popasna remain two of the most destroyed places in Ukraine to this day. Today, as many as 90 percent of buildings in both towns have been destroyed. Viktoria, Olha, and Vera were forced to flee Ukraine and found refuge in northern Poland. They each chose Łapy as their temporary home. Łapy is a small town of more than 20,000 inhabitants, with few job prospects for both Poles and newly arrived refugees from Ukraine.
With no possibility of returning to Ukraine, these women are trying to arrange their family and professional lives in Poland. They arrived with young children, and their husbands are currently either looking for a job or are working on construction sites in different parts of the country.
Expanded access
They met at the Przystań [Haven] Social Integration Centre in Łapy, which helps people with life difficulties through social employment and vocational reintegration. For many years, the organization has served local people in the area who struggled to find jobs. Thanks to new financial support from the European Social Fund, twenty out of two hundred Ukrainians who arrived in Łapy have been admitted to the program since the spring of 2022.
«Our city was bombed, so we came with the whole family here to Łapy. In the beginning, it was very difficult for us to work, since neither I nor my husband spoke Polish. Anyway, even if we did, we had no one to take care of the children. The grandparents, who had always helped us, stayed in Donbas. After a few months without a job and without an idea what to do next, I found out about the vocational integration program at the Przystań Social Integration Centre», says Vera, who is now working at the “U Lecha” pastry shop in Łapy.
During the first year of the war, 18.8 million Ukrainians crossed the Polish border. An overwhelming majority of them – 16.9 million – returned to the country, many continued their journey to the west, but many also settled on Polish territory.
Currently, around a million Ukrainian war refugees live in Poland, and 65% of them have found work there. Poland thus records the best score in this area among OECD countries, ahead of Great Britain (61%), Sweden (56%), and above all, far ahead of Germany (19%). This high employment rate can perhaps be explained by the cultural and linguistic proximity of Ukrainians and Poles, but also by the needs of the labor market, currently filled by refugees from the East.
Special status
Despite some doubts and discussions, the Polish government has also continuously supported Ukrainian war refugees by granting them a special status that includes access to free healthcare and social benefits.
However, many Ukrainians do face a language barrier and sometimes suffer discrimination in the Polish labor market. Many have difficulty getting their university degrees recognized. Welfare programs, such as the one offered in Łapy, help overcome these barriers.
The percentage of women among war refugees is very high. According to the 2023 National Bank of Poland report, some 78 percent of the refugees are female. In the Przystań program, the vast majority of Ukrainian participants were also women.
For Ukrainian participants, the Social Integration Centre Przystań has offered work for small financial assistance. It consisted of just a few hours per day of gardening, caring for the elderly, cleaning the church, and other tasks. In addition, they attended Polish language lessons twice a week and were under the care of a counselor and a career advisor.
«In the Przystań program, I finally had the opportunity to devote my time to work because I was taking my children with me. I also earned some money and learned to communicate in Polish as much as I could. That time was also very difficult mentally for all of us. Talking to a counselor was like a salvation, says Vera.
From factory manager to electrician
Eighteen months into the program, the participants looked for jobs in various sectors. «Viktoria and I applied for a job at a pastry shop to bake buns and cakes, and we got the job straight away. The owner knew we had been working in Poland for more than a year, and that we speak Polish. Without the program, I don’t know if getting a job in Łapy would have been possible.»
Vera’s husband Volodymyr has also found a job as an electrician thanks to the program. Although he is grateful for the opportunity he is saying that in Ukraine he was a factory manager responsible for a big team. He is finding it difficult to find a similar job here, also because of the language barrier.
According to Radosław Zyzik of the Polish Economic Institute, research shows that more than half of the refugees from Ukraine are working in what they consider ‘simple’ jobs and nearly half are working below their qualifications. In fact, the better their qualifications, the less likely they are to find equivalent employment in Poland.
«At the beginning of the war, I felt very sorry for the Ukrainians. I thought we should help them deal with the difficult situation they were in. But later I noticed how well they were doing in Poland and my attitude changed»
In 2024, most Poles express a positive or neutral opinion towards Ukrainian refugees. But according to a survey by the recruitment agency Personnel Service, a quarter of them recognize that their perception of them has deteriorated over time. After the Russian invasion in 2022, Poles welcomed millions of Ukrainians home, under their own roof, and held massive fundraisers across the country. An unprecedented phenomenon, which showed their ability to mobilize, but which has run out of steam.
Until 2022, the Przystań program had exclusively served the local people experiencing difficulties in finding jobs. «I remember when we were about to close our program and a new edition was about to start, this time only for Ukrainians, I was simply sad, knowing that local people would not be offered this opportunity. At the beginning of the war, I felt very sorry for the Ukrainians. I thought we should help them deal with the difficult situation they were in. But later I noticed how well they were doing in Poland and my attitude changed» says Zofia, a Polish woman who participated in the Przystań program in 2021.
Fear and reluctance
From 2024, the program in Łapy will offer its services to both Poles and Ukrainians. «I think the project should be focused on the Polish population. If there is space left, please include the Ukrainians. But not at our expense», says Weronika, also a program participant from Łapy.
According to the Personnel Service survey, the most common reason for the resentment among Polish people is exactly the fear of losing jobs to Ukrainians.
However, when asked if the attitude of Poles to newcomers from Ukraine has changed since 2022, each Ukrainian interviewees replied that it has not. «We have now both Polish and Ukrainian people in our circle. My younger son has made many Polish friends. Only once did we experience an unpleasant situation in the school because of one boy», says Olha.
Viktoria and Vera are also happy about the relationships they formed with Poles. They talk about their husbands’ and children’s new acquaintances. Vera also talks proudly about the driving license she obtained in Łapy, which she has taken entirely in Polish.
Despite satisfaction with their life in Poland, the women are considering returning to Ukraine should the war end. «I can’t go home, our whole city is destroyed. But if the war ends, maybe we will go to central or western Ukraine. We will see. For now, we are trying to make a life for ourselves here», says Viktoria.
Viktoria’s husband, Igor, feels that he is better off living in Poland than in the Ukrainian Donbas region. He also says that his mother and brother have supported Putin since 2014. They also did not understand why Igor supported Ukraine, or why he was going to Poland to work for many years.
During the interview, Igor calls out to his mother to join us from another apartment in the workers’ hostel where they all live. He seats her and asks:
« – And who was I supporting and who did you back in 2014?
-You were for Ukraine. I was not interested in politics.
-And are you better off now in Poland or before in Ukraine?
– In Poland. Incomparably better», Igor’s mother replies visibly uncomfortable.