Disinfo: The predominant majority of the Ukrainian labour migrants in Poland are employed illegally

Summary

Both Poland and Ukraine collect statistics on the number of Ukrainian labour migrants in Poland, but the official data does not give a real picture. The predominant majority of such migrants are employed illegally.

Disproof

This message is a part of the Kremlin’s narrative on the increasing problems with the Ukrainian labour migrants in the EU countries. The message that “the predominant part of the Ukrainian migrants to Poland are employed illegally” comes from a misunderstanding of mechanisms of employment of foreigners in this country. Besides the traditional work permits, there is another much larger channel of employment of the Ukrainians in Poland. The major part of the Ukrainian labour migrants in Poland are employed through the procedure of the so-called “Declarations of intent to employ”, which are issued to the Ukrainian workers by the Polish employers. This mechanism is entirely legal – it was established by the Polish authorities in order to facilitate the employment of foreign labour migrants. For example, in 2017, the Polish employers issued 1.7 million of “Declarations of intent to employ” to the Ukrainians. At the same time, the number of work permits issued to the Ukrainians in 2017 was 192.000. The number of Ukrainians staying in Poland for a shorter or longer time varies between 1-1.5 million people a year (most of them are “circulating” migrants, who stay in Poland for several months a year). According to the studies of the Polish National Bank, the approximate number of Ukrainians staying in Poland at any given time throughout 2017 was about 900.000. Read other disinformation messages concerning the Ukrainian labour migrants - Europe wants to take away the visa-free regime from Ukraine, Large numbers of Ukrainians seeking asylum in Europe and Poland is treating Ukrainian migrants like slaves.

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publication/media

pl.sputniknews.com (Archived)
  • Reported in: Issue 179
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 12/12/2019
  • Outlet language(s) Polish
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Poland, Ukraine
  • Keywords: migration, Visa liberalisation
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Disinfo: The WADA expert group was geopolitically biased against Russia

If we have a closer look at the laboratory expert group, it consist of the following members; Terence Wan (Chair) Hong Kong, Arieh Cohen from Denmark, Bruno Garrido from Brazil, Catrin Goebel from Australia, Andrea Gotzmann from Germany, Tiia Kuuranne from Finland, Bruno le Bizec from France, Jenny Schulze from Sweden, Lorraine Turner from the UK and Peter van Eenoo from Belgium. The geopolitics are not favorable for Russia. The team manically consists of members of the pro-Western bloc, so it’s no wonder that this team voted all in favor of putting a four-year ban on Russia.

Dec 11, 2019
Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin narrative claiming that any criticism of Russia voiced by any non-Russian entity, be it an NGO, a government, or a media outlet, is a symptom of pathological Russophobia afflicting all such institutions. In the course of the World Anti-Doping Code (WADA) investigation into the alleged state-sponsored doping operation, Russia has received the same treatment as any other country probed for doping violations. See here and here for comprehensive debunking by Polygraph.info.

Disinfo: Sanctions on Syria are illegal

Sanctions against Syria – whether from European countries or the United States – are illegal.

Dec 11, 2019
Disproof

In 2005, by UNSC Resolution 1636, the UN Security Council imposed travel bans and asset freezes on people suspected of being involved in the 14 February 2005 terrorist bombing in Beirut, Lebanon, in which Syria was implicated by a UN report.

The EU implemented those measures by adopting Council Common Position 2005/888/CFSP and Council Regulation (EC) No 305/2006.

Disinfo: White Helmets fabricated evidence used to bomb Syria

The United States has taken the fabrications of the White Helmets’ concerning “chemical attacks” in Syria as an excuse to call for direct airstrikes in this country.

Dec 11, 2019
Disproof

A recurring disinformation narrative claiming that chemical attack in Douma, Syria was staged, along with narratives aiming to discredit the White Helmets. See our and Bellingcat's reporting how Russian and Syrian state media have used fiction movies to "prove" that the Douma attack was fabricated.

The Report of the OPCW fact-finding mission in Syria regarding the incident of alleged use of toxic chemicals as a weapon in Douma states that "Based on the levels of chlorinated organic derivatives, detected in several environmental samples gathered at the sites of alleged use of toxic chemicals (Locations 2 and 4), which are not naturally present in the environment, the FFM concludes that the objects from which the samples were taken at both locations had been in contact with one or more substances containing reactive chlorine."