Poland opens centres for Ukrainians who need quarantine. Many industries already suffer from worker shortages.

Quarantine centres are primarily needed by workers who temporarily left for Ukraine and want to return to work in Poland. This was reported by Censor.NET, citing a statement by the Polish employment company Gremi Personal, which recently opened two quarantine centres for Ukrainian workers in Gdańsk and Łódź.

This need arose with the introduction in Poland of a quarantine system caused by the coronavirus pandemic and the closure of the Ukrainian-Polish border. Under the order of the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Poland of 17 March 2020, Polish citizens, foreigners holding a Pole's Card, foreigners with a permanent residence permit in Poland, and foreigners with a work permit in Poland may enter Poland. However, the condition for everyone is a 14-day quarantine.

"Quarantine centres are needed primarily by our workers who temporarily left for Ukraine; during that time the borders were closed, and now they are trying to return to work. As well as for Ukrainians who have a work permit in Poland but cannot travel to Poland because they do not know where the quarantine will take place," explains Tomas Bogdevic, CEO of Gremi Personal.

He stressed that Polish business now urgently needs labour from Ukraine. The food industry, manufacturing companies, logistics warehouses, grocery stores, agricultural companies – all these sectors have already begun to feel the shortage of workers.

Also, the "anti-crisis shield" programme announced by the Polish government on 18 March 2020 includes a support package for foreign workers, which covers the automatic extension of visas, residence and work permits for foreigners already in Poland for the quarantine period.