Report reveals growing problem of foreigners working illegally in Poland

Latest estimates put the number of foreigners working illegally in Poland at 1.5 million. This is a significant increase from the number last year, which barely reached 1 million. "I employ workers from Belarus because they are more eager to work than Poles and they cost less," says a farm owner, who goes on, "Polish workers demand full-time employment and a steady income, which means insurance and taxes." The National Employment Office (KUP) and the Central Statistical Office (GUS) say that the illegal employment of foreign workers is becoming an increasingly more serious problem. "The work is concentrated mainly in central Poland, in bigger markets and by the country's borders," writes the KUP in its annual report. (Rzeczpospolita, p. A4) A.K.