More than 5600 Ukrainians have employment contracts in Bulgaria
More than 5600 Ukrainians have already started working under an employment contract in Bulgaria, the government information service said on June 15.
This is the highest percentage of integrated refugees that Bulgaria has achieved in its recent history, the statement said.
Since the beginning of the war, more than 330 000 Ukrainians have entered Bulgaria, it said.
At the height of the crisis, more than 115 000 people were accommodated in the country, and to date about 78 000 are still living in Bulgaria. About half of them are housed in state bases and hotels under the new humanitarian programme, according to the statement.
More than 5 600 Ukrainian citizens are employed under temporary protection in Bulgaria, which represents more than 15 per cent of the working population of those fleeing the war in Ukraine.
This number of more than 5 600 people does not include those employed on civil contracts and those on probation, and yet this is the highest percentage of integrated refugees the state has managed to achieve in its recent history, and within only three months, the statement said.
Employees are distributed in almost all districts of the country, in 20 sectors of the economy in nine different professional fields.
The sectors include hotels and restaurants, administrative and ancillary activities to construction and professional activities and research and IT.
At the beginning of the crisis, the IT sector said it needed about 30 000 staff and the textile industry could take in about 20 000.
Ukrainians have already been recruited in various industries as managers, specialists, technicians, support and administrative staff, and people with professions that do not require special qualifications.
On June 6, Bulgaria’s Employment Agency launched a programme to help Ukrainian refugees with temporary protection in Bulgaria.
A sum of 356 leva for three months will be provided for rents and overheads to Ukrainian citizens who have started working in Bulgaria.
In addition, the state will provide employers employing refugees with a minimum wage and insurance for the same period.
The money is provided by the EU under the Solidarity project, funded by the Human Resources Development Operational Programme 2014-2020.
During the period of subsidised employment, employers will receive funds for remuneration of employed Ukrainians in the amount of the minimum wage (710 leva) and due insurance at the expense of employers, as well as incentives covering the costs of all due contributions at the expense of the employer, according to the requirements of the Labour Code and the Social Security Code, the statement said.
(Photo: Gabrielle Henderston/unsplash)
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