Prague – The ethical employment of foreigners in the context of newcomers from Ukraine is the topic of the conference, where representatives of the state administration, the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, the Office of the Ombudsman, employers and non-profit and multinational organizations will sit together at one table. The meeting, organized by Slovo 21, the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), is held under the auspices of the Government Commissioner for Human Rights, Klára Šimáčková Laurenčíková.

A discussion on the ethical employment of foreigners in the Czech Republic will take place on 23 February at the Straka Academy of the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic. Representatives of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, the Ministry of the Interior and the Office of the Ombudsman, as well as the Association of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises of the Czech Republic and representatives of non-profit organizations have accepted the invitation to discuss this issue together. The debate will also share practical experiences from employers on the one hand and reflections on the labour market situation from the perspective of newcomers from Ukraine. The working conditions of temporary protection holders will also be discussed by the State Labour Inspection Office and the Administration of Refugee Facilities of the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic.

"The topic of ethical or unethical employment of foreigners in Czechia was an important topic even before Russia invaded Ukraine. In the last year the problem has escalated and for this reason we have invited representatives of institutions and organizations in order to connect them and look for solutions," says Jelena Silajdžić, Director of Slovo 21.

Petr Karban of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) says: "Almost a year has passed since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. With the arrival of hundreds of thousands of people who have had to leave their homes because of the war, it is important to focus on the specifics related to the employment of new arrivals, especially the ethical aspects of employment." In his view, it is important to have an open discussion on this topic with the aim of defining fundamental measures that will enable the ethical employment of all employees without distinction to be applied in practice.

The conference will also address a survey of war refugees from Ukraine in Czechia in the context of employment. The preliminary results of the survey with 1 037 respondents will be presented by Dušan Drbohlav from the Faculty of Science of Charles University.

The conference is organized by Slovo 21, the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and aims to open a discussion on the ethical employment of foreigners and to ensure intersectoral cooperation between all actors in this field. 

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For more information please contact: prague@iom.int