Nova Paka, North Bohemia, Feb 17 (CTK) – Workers from Ukraine, Belarus, Russia and Serbia should be coming to Czech companies in order to fill the vacancies there, President Milos Zeman told journalists Friday.
However, the government is holding back the arrival of the manpower from Ukraine, Zeman said.
The use of foreigners may be a short-term solution to the shortage of the labour in the Czech Republic, while robotisation in industrial companies is a long-term solution, he added.
“I think it is a mistake if our government strongly holds back the arrival of such people from Ukraine, but not only from there. I can also imagine an influx from Belarus, Russia, Serbia and some other countries with no major language barrier,” Zeman said.
Zeman warned of the disproportion as some 3,800 working visas were to be issued for Ukrainians, while there were 150,000 openings in the Czech Republic.
“Let us free the space for the working visas because Ukrainians are able to work and do not want to live on welfare here,” Zeman said.
On February 8, the government decided to increase the staff in the Czech general consulate in Lviv. It said the original quota for the Ukrainian manpower could be crossed.
The monthly quota is now 400 employers, but it may rise to 800 after the staff at the consulate is increased.
The decision was welcomed by the business sphere which says it needs to fill about 140,000 vacancies, mainly in menial jobs.
