Latin American communities in Poland

• Factories (fish, chicken)
• Agriculture
• Food processing
• Clothes production
• Warehouses

Please know that this list is not exclusive. You may experience exploitation in any job sector. If this is the case, there is help available to you. 

Some job ads posted online might not be legitimate.

You should be suspicious of any recruitment process which has any of the following characteristics:

You can report suspicious job ads within The STOP APP.

Your employer is required to give you a written contract prior to the start of work. This obligation also applies to civil law contracts (such as a contract for a specific task, a harvest help contract).

The contract should not be entirely in favour of the employer and should not make you renounce your labour rights. 

The contract must include:

• Data about the employee and the employer, the company where you will work, and the labor agency

• Type of contract (for example, fixed-term contract)

• Date of execution of the contract

• Working conditions, such as type of work activities, place and time of work, remuneration for work, start date.

You should not have to experience any of the following at work:

• Being withheld your wages, or paid less than your full agreed salary

• Living in uncomfortable and unhygienic accommodation provided by the employer

• Being denied breaks, rest, and/or annual leave

• Having deductions from your salary to pay back for a recruitment debt (no one has the right to force someone to work for them, even if money is owed).

• Restricted or no access to your earnings

• Being subject to intimidation, coercion, and/or physical or emotional abuse

• Excessive working hours

• No access to your passport or identity documents

• Restricted movement

Click here for more detailed information on your work rights, valid work permits, and employment contracts from the Mexican Embassy in Poland, and click here for similar advice from the Colombian Embassy.

If you have experienced any of the above, know this should not be tolerated and there are organisations that can help you. 

You can report such incidents within The STOP APP. If possible, document all violations at work in the form of photo/video materials. If anyone is in immediate danger, or a crime is being or has been committed, call the emergency services.

Make sure to make a note of what happened, including details of:

The National Minimum Wage is the minimum pay almost all workers are entitled to. In most countries, employers are bound by law to pay their workers a national minimum wage.

In Poland, there is a minimum wage set by the government, and no employee in this country may earn less than this mandatory wage rate.

The national minimum wage in Poland is:

PLN 3 490.00 per month

PLN 22.80 per hour

These rates will change in July 2023.

Employers in Poland who do not comply with the obligation to pay the Minimum Wage may be subject to a penalty imposed by Polish government authorities.

For information about other National Minimum Wages in other countries, you can visit this website for further details.

Human trafficking is the movement or recruitment of people, either through deception, coercion or force for the purpose of exploitation. Traffickers often profit financially from exploiting people.

Organ traffickers sometimes forcibly remove organs without consent or through coercion. This is illegal and dangerous. It could cost you your life. 

There are many ways people might be lured and trapped into exploitation, including:

You might be offered help with travel and shelter in exchange for payment later. Don’t agree unless you know all the details. This is a method traffickers use to control and exploit people and an example of debt bondage.

It is very important that whatever choice you make, you ensure you put your safety as a top priority

Traffickers have many faces. They can be any age, gender or nationality.

Survivors often say they were trafficked by partners, spouses, friends, even family members.

• Traffickers are usually motivated by financial gain and are masters in the art of deception.
• They know how to gain trust and make you feel special.
• They often target people with offers of friendship.
• They may buy you gifts, give you money or offer you drugs or alcohol.

Unfortunately, traffickers’ prey upon people in a vulnerable situation. When trust is established, the trafficker’s kind behaviour may change, and they become controlling, even violent.  Their aim was to lure you in, only to control and exploit you. They may convince you that the situation, even the abuse, is normal.

You can report any suspicious activity on The STOP APP.

Traffickers often force people into doing things they don’t want to do. They will pressure and force people to stay in the situation using threats and intimidation.

Control methods include:

If you have found yourself in a situation you want to escape, there are organisations that can help you.