Slovakia is set to pay Brussels around four million euros instead of accepting about 200 migrants under the European Union's migration system. The government has repeatedly rejected mandatory migrant quotas. But at the same time, it acknowledges the need for foreign workers to fill a growing shortage of labor. Thousands of people from countries including India and Central Asia are already working in Slovakia.
Prime Minister Robert Fico of the SMER-SD party says he wants to make around 140,000 vacant positions available to legal migrants: “I clearly distinguish between illegal and legal migration. Given that we are short of 140,000 employees, companies operating in Slovakia are also reaching out to foreign workers.”
But an employment expert says Slovakia is not creating the right conditions to attract and retain foreign workers. Labour Minister Erik Tomáš of Hlas-SD is also aware of the shortage. He says around 150,000 foreigners are already working in Slovakia: “Of these, around 55,000 are Ukrainians and some 16,000 are Indians. It is not such an urgent issue in terms of the number of people who should come here, but we obviously need workers to fill vacant positions because companies need to operate,” Tomáš said.
Michal Páleník of the Employment Institute says around 55,000 new migrants have arrived in Slovakia since the current government took office. However, he argues that the government has failed to build the infrastructure needed to help foreign workers settle and find employment in the country: “First of all, we should try to make people who are already working here feel at home, so that they are not beaten on the street, so that basic information is also in English, if not in other languages, not to mention education about labor regulations.”
According to Páleník, Slovakia's ability to attract foreign professionals will depend, among other things, on its visa policy and access to housing.
Source: STVR
