Prague, May 29 (CTK) – Employers will want the Czech Republic to have a programme with which to gain the manpower not only from Ukraine, but also from other countries outside the EU in an easier way, Jan Wiesner, head of the Confederation of Employers’ and Entrepreneurs’ Associations (KZPS CR), told CTK on Monday.
The businesspeople now only with difficulties hire the Ukrainian manpower, Wiesner said.
The representatives of the government, trade unions and employers discussed the employment of foreigners at their tripartite meeting.
“We try to employ primarily our unemployed. However, it has turned out in a number of regions that there is no manpower left,” Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka (Social Democrats, CSSD) said.
“The shortage is being dealt with both within the framework of the EU and somewhere also outside the EU,” Sobotka said.
When employing foreigners, it must be ensured that they are not hired for lower salaries as this would support unfair competition, he added.
The Czech Republic has the lowest jobless rate (4.4 percent) in the EU. In April, the job offices registered 327,199 people without a job and 159,072 openings.
Employers complain that they only with difficulties can find new workers, due to which they want to hire them abroad.
“We know from practice that the companies would welcome it if the project Ukraine Regime were widened to other countries such as Mongolia,” Confederation of Industry President Jaroslav Hanak said.
The companies also demand that the government introduce quotas for transfers of the staff within a single firm between countries.
The Labour and Social Affairs Ministry is of the view that this is to help foreign investors.
“This fast track [rapid clearance of official procedures] demands an increase in the number of civil servants,” Hanak said.
Last year, there were 382,889 foreign employees in the Czech Republic. Three-quarters of them were from the EU.
In addition, 54,571 Ukrainians had a job in the Czech Republic, being the second most numerous group of foreign employees after Slovaks.
Wiesner said Ukraine was “rather exhausted.” Along with the Czech Republic, Poland, too, looks for employees there.
Due to this, the country has lost a large portion of its manpower, which may cause a problem to its economy, Wiesner said.
