Foreign workers forced out by gov’t policy – News – The Prague Post

When Olga S., 33, left her village in west Ukraine nine years ago in search of a job in the Czech Republic, finding work was the easy part of her experience.

She did not speak the language and was given a low-skill job at a Prague bakery. She slept at a boarding house for migrant workers and worked long hours to pay off the 11,000 Kč her Ukraine-based employment agency demanded in exchange for negotiating her work permit. For the next four years, Olga was dependent on her employer, who required her to register as self-employed to avoid the legal complications associated with hiring foreigners as full-time employees. She has since gained permanent residency, works 60-hour weeks as a hotel cook and a supermarket cashier, and considers herself one of the lucky ones.

“Things have gotten much worse in the past three years,” she said. “It has become really difficult to get a work permit. Many people are leaving because the agencies now want up to 50,000 Kč for the paperwork.” …

via Foreign workers forced out by gov’t policy – News – The Prague Post.