Economists and entrepreneurs agree that refugees from the Russian invasion of Ukraine have proven a huge boost to Poland’s economy, but now their contribution may be at risk.
At the ElFlex yoga and fitness centre, the young women stretching and balancing in complicated poses under the coloured lights maintain their poise, but concern is rippling through the community.
She now owns two yoga studios and has franchised two more.
“Polish clients come to us, and the girls now conduct training in Polish. They like us and, in fact, I have never encountered any negativity,“ she told AFP.
In March 2022, in the immediate aftermath of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Poland’s parliament passed a law granting protected status to Ukrainians.
A new draft is ready, but Nawrocki is still keeping the Ukrainians and their employers guessing.
On Thursday the president said he was still studying the amended bill.
At the parliament in Warsaw, lawmaker Michal Wawer of the right-wing Confederation party, which sits in the opposition in parliament, told AFP his movement hopes the president will indeed stop the bill.
“Each of these Ukrainian citizens will be entitled to apply for legal residence as an immigrant or as a refugee.”
Entrepreneur Oleg Yarovi, a 37-year-old Ukrainian who owns a chain of coffee shops, does not agree.
“The Ukrainians who came here invested millions in Poland. We are currently selling one of our premises and every day if I take seven calls from people who are interested, six are Ukrainians.”
Ukrainians are more likely to be employed than Poles, and native workers are moving into higher-paid roles.
Yet Poland’s total population is shrinking and unemployment in July was just 3.1 percent, the fourth lowest in the European Union.
“It is not true that Ukrainian citizens in Poland primarily rely on welfare,“ she told AFP, complaining that the political debate in Poland does not take into account the scale of Ukrainians’ input.
“I don’t agree that they are well integrated,“ Wawer told AFP.
Some business leaders accuse Russia’s online propaganda networks of boosting anti-refugee sentiment.
Referring to the law, he said “we’re coming to the end of September and still it’s not signed. There’s real concern.” – AFP
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