Czech government divided over jobless foreigners

Prague - Just a few months ago they were helping the Czech economy and now they are facing deportation. Thousands of foreigners that have lost their jobs as a consequence of the economic crisis are trapped in the country and the government seems to be divided on what exactly to do with them.

The story of a Vietnamese citizen Le Kim Thanh perfectly illustrates the dichotomy of the government. Le Kim Thanh worked in different jobs, was underpaid and eventually caught by police. "He violated law a number of times," says interior minister Ivan Langer who represents the tougher approach to the jobless foreigners stranded in the country. Thanh is now facing deportation. Human rights minister Michael Kocáb asked Langer to reconsider Thanh's case once more. "The Czech society should be more open-minded and sensitive to foreigners," Kocáb told press agency ČTK Wednesday.

"This case will show whether the Czech government and its institutions can sensibly and correctly consider cases of foreigners that are losing jobs en masse," added Kocáb.
Easy to become illegal
The latest statistics indicate there are 17,000 jobless contract workers at the moment, most of them foreigners. According to the interior ministry around 12,000 foreigners are expected to lose jobs in the 1Q.
Czech factories are massively sacking employees and foreign workers are the first ones to lose their jobs. As soon as their work contracts are terminated, jobless foreigners must return home but often find themselves in a difficult situation, not having any money to buy a ticket.
At a Monday conference minister Langer presented his plan how to handle the unsettling situation of jobless guest workers.
"He (Le Kim Thanh) did not follow the court's ruling on deportation, he worked without a working permit and he did not report on his whereabouts to the authorities," Langer said at the conference.
Human rights activists and non-governmental organizations have spoken out against the decision to deport Le Kim Thanh.
ConCourt may help
According to Langer, the case of Thanh is to be decided by court. But Pavel Čižinský from the Refugee Agency says it is only the foreigners police that or interior ministry that can decide what to do with Thanh.
The Refugee Agency is now mulling filing a complaint with the Constitutional Court.
HRs minister Kocáb recommended Wednesday the authorities to reconsider the case once again. "He lives and works thousands of kilometers away from his home. The contact with authorities and employees is made by the work agency. He speaks no Czech. In the case of any problems he and his family can be sanctioned back home."

"The strict approach of the state authorities towards jobless foreigners may create concerns of Czech citizens over foreigners living and working in the country. There is enough of "bad" mood and news these days," said Kocáb.

Czech Ministry Proposes Re-Patriation of Unemployed Foreigners

Prague - The Czech Interior Ministry has drafted a plan enabling the state to send the foreigners, who lost their job in the Czech Republic and have no money, back to their homeland, says weekly Tyden in its issue to appear on Monday, adding that the state would pay 500 euros for voluntary return.

The proposal reckons with the state giving the air tickets to the foreigners concerned. Those who would opt for return voluntarily, could gain an additional 500 euros, Tyden writes. The ministry expects 12,000 foreign employees to be made redundant in the Czech Republic by March-end. If the state did nothing, the threat would arise that up to 15 percent of the unemployed foreigners would be absorbed by the underworld, up to 80 percent of them would try to circumvent the law and create an illegal labour market, and up to 15 percent would move to other EU states, Tyden writes, citing the ministry.

The first to have been afflicted by the financial crisis are mainly the Vietnamese and Mongolian workers in the Czech Republic.

"It is really a big problem, which also poses a threat to state security," said Tomas Haisman, head of the ministry's department of asylum and migration section. The ministry's proposal, reckoning with the departure of about 2,000 foreigners from the Czech Republic, requires approval from the government. If it receives the green light, the government would also earmark over 55 million crowns for the voluntary returns.

At the same time the Interior Ministry proposes a temporary restriction of issuing long-term visas. It also wants to check the agencies that mediate jobs for foreigners, and to make the agencies cooperate with state authorities.

"They have to bear responsibility for the people whom they bring to our country," Haisman is quoted as saying.

The number of foreign workers in the Czech Republic grew by 44,300 last year, a 20 percent decrease against 2007. As of end-December 2008, a total of 284,551 foreigners were legally employed in the Czech Republic.

Author: ČTK

Christening Party - Křtiny