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Ukrainian crisis - Reaction from the World Employment Confederation

European Employers Institute
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Date

11 Mar 2022

Sections

Social Europe & Jobs

The World Employment Confederation (WEC) is deeply concerned about the situation in Ukraine and calls for all measures to be taken to bring back peace to the region. On this page, WEC gathered useful resources aimed at supporting its members and the wider recruitment and employment industry through this difficult time.  

Reaction from the World Employment Confederation

The World Employment Confederation (WEC) as well as its European arm (WEC-Europe) strongly condemn the unilateral use of armed force, wherever it occurs, which disrupts peace, the multilateral order, and territorial integrity, values on which the United Nations and European Union were built. We call for all measures to be taken to bring back peace to the Eastern European region and express deep concern about the situation in Ukraine. Our thoughts are with all the people and families impacted by the crisis, locally, and throughout the world.

The private employment services industry is now focusing on how it can lend its support to people, including those displaced by the crisis. The first priority of private employment agencies in the region is to support their own colleagues and agency workers, as well as their families, as many attempt to flee Ukraine.

Read our statement.

Initiatives from the Private Employment Services Sector

The private employment services industry is now focusing on how it can lend its support to people, including those displaced by the crisis. The first priority of private employment agencies in the region is to support their own colleagues and agency workers, as well as their families, as many attempt to flee Ukraine.

  • For Ukrainians who were in neighbouring countries prior to the invasion, private employment agencies have commenced discussions with clients to ensure employment opportunities continue.
  • Many private employment agencies are offering transport, accommodation as well as legal and psychological assistance for family members of colleagues and agency workers.
  • Websites and local support centers are being put in place by the private employment services industry to assist refugees.
  • In some countries, cooperation agreements are being developed with central employers’ organisations and/or public employment services to facilitate access to the labour market for displaced workers.
  • Several WEC members are also activating the Tent Partnership for refugees that they joined years ago, which is mobilising the private sector to improve the lives and livelihoods of more than 30 million refugees around the globe. Some WEC members have also relationships with the ICRC (the International Committee of the Red Cross / Red Crescent) and the UNHCR.
  • Some WEC members are also organizing donations for Ukraine.

Positions and Resources from WEC Members

Positions and Resources from WEC’s International Stakeholders

Positions and Resources from WEC’s European Stakeholders

International, regional and national authorities are deploying policy instruments to support the people of Ukraine.

  • The European Commission proposed a new instrument called “CARE”, which is aiming to support and finance Cohesion Action for Refugees in Europe. Programmes and activities of the EU Member States to support refugees from Ukraine can be financed for up to 100 percent via the EU budget. Private actors can make us of it indirectly, when partnering with national authorities and contributing to national policies to support refugees from Ukraine.
  • The European Commission proposed to activate the Temporary Protection Directive to offer quick and effective assistance to people fleeing the war in Ukraine. Under this proposal, those fleeing the war will be granted temporary protection in the EU, meaning that they will be given a residence permit, and they will have access to education and to the labour market.
  • The Spanish government announced that it will allow Ukrainians who have arrived in recent months to reside and work in the country. The more than 100,000 Ukrainians who legally reside in Spain will not have to renew their permits to avoid unexpected irregularities. The Council of Ministers approved the institutional declaration, in which it is ensured that it will “guarantee” that Ukrainians who are in Spain “can stay and work”, as well as “access health care and education” and the “social assistance that corresponds to him”.
  • Portugal’s government launched an online jobs platform to channel company job vacancies towards them. In just one day, the ‘Portugal for Ukraine’ website collected more than 2,000 job offers from all over the country, concentrated primarily in the areas of technology, transport, the social sector, tourism and construction.
  • Ireland lifted all visa requirements for Ukrainians wishing to enter the country as an emergency measure. Ukrainians arriving in Ireland without a visa have 90 days to regularise their position.
  • The Czech Republic has activated its Migration Wave Preparedness Plan. This will help refugees apply for a special type of visa through a simplified procedure in order to remain, if needed.
  • The United Kingdom is extending visas for Ukrainian temporary workers in some sectors who can now stay until at least 31 December 2022, primarily because people cannot return to Ukraine. The relaxation of the visa rules for Ukrainians includes giving British nationals and any person settled in the UK the ability to bring over their immediate Ukrainian family members.
    Approximately 45% of applications for UK temporary work visas last year were made by Ukrainian nationals, who accounted for 19,858 of the total 44,114 applications made last year.
  • Poland has set up nine reception centres along the border which provide food, medical assistance and information. It has also launched a helpline and an online platform to coordinate the offers of help from citizens, businesses and NGOs. On top of that, to help transport refugees into Poland, the state railway operator PKP launched additional connections and announced that citizens of Ukraine can travel for free over the next month.
  • In Romania, Ukrainian citizens who want to work in Romania do not need proof of employment for up to nine months in a calendar year. According to Romania’s National Employment Agency (ANOFM), after acquiring a form of international protection, Ukrainian nationals can register with employment agencies, thus benefiting, free of charge, from the measures to stimulate employment: jobseekers getting in touch with employers; information and professional counseling that provides a range of services free of charge to jobseekers, with the aim of providing information on the labour market and the employment trends; vocational training; evaluation and recognition of professional skills from a non-formal and informal system, etc.

Helping Ukrainian Refugees Find Work

Over one million Ukrainians refugees have now fled conflict areas and need to find work at short notice to be able to settle in their temporary new location. We are compiling here some dedicated platforms that have been set up to help displaced people find work.