Fleeing war, finding exploitation: Ukraine’s refugees in Europe

Russia‘s 2022 all-out invasion of Ukraine sparked Europe’s largest post-WWII exodus. Two years on, 10 million Ukrainians remain displaced, with 6 million refugees in Europe, according to UNHCR estimates. The long-dormant Temporary Protection Directive, activated for the first time, granted Ukrainian refugees swift access to residence permits, labour markets, housing and social safety nets – bypassing the EU’s typically byzantine asylum procedures.

Unfortunately, it has proven a porous shield against rapacious entrepreneurs, according to Vsquare. Drawing on findings from the pan-European “War & Labor” investigation, Kristina Veinbender, Mariya Merkusheva, Miglė Krancevičiūtė and Olivia Samnick reveal how some businesses have deftly exploited the desperation of Ukrainian refugees, turning the humanitarian crisis into a commercial opportunity. Ukrainian refugees’ travails in European labour markets span a grim spectrum: from withheld wages and illegally low pay to squalid living conditions, psychological abuse, and flagrant disregard for workers’ welfare and employment law. The war has spawned a poverty industry. Companies exploit Ukrainians via a trifecta of profiteering: extortionate rents, pocketing refugee subsidies, and agency work exploitation.

Ukrainian refugee distribution in Europe has shifted significantly. Germany now hosts the largest number, with 1.2 million, while Poland‘s population has decreased to 950,000. This westward movement, primarily to Germany, is driven by better economic prospects and social benefits, revealing how financial factors influence refugee settlement patterns within the EU. 

The war has spawned a poverty industry. Companies exploit Ukrainians via a trifecta of profiteering: extortionate rents, pocketing refugee subsidies, and agency work exploitation

Olivia Samnick writes in Der Freitag that 80% of Ukrainian refugees in Germany seek employment, yet only 21% had secured jobs by the end of 2023. Many highly qualified individuals, facing protracted qualification recognition processes, resort to the low-wage sector, where exploitation risks are acute. Labour inspections are woefully inadequate, occurring on average once every 25 years per company, due to understaffing and poor interdepartmental coordination. Despite robust labour laws, the German Trade Union Confederation reports widespread non-compliance. In the hospitality sector, for instance, room-based pay rather than hourly wages often results in excessive, unpaid overtime. This pattern of individual infractions has coalesced into a systemic issue, with unscrupulous employers profiting from substandard labour practices while many workers silently endure or quietly resign.

While Germany hosts the largest absolute number of Ukrainian refugees, the Czech Republic with roughly half a million Ukrainian refugees leads in per capita terms. A Charles University study, reported by Zita Senková and Dušan Drbohlav for the public Czech Radio, reveals that Ukrainian refugees, primarily women, have successfully entered the Czech labour market. However, they are largely confined to low-level positions in the secondary labour market, regardless of their often high qualifications and experience. This misalignment has led to growing dissatisfaction, with complaints about undignified treatment, low wages, and exploitation. The situation sometimes pushes refugees towards illegal work or exploitative employment agencies. Language barriers and difficulties in diploma recognition exacerbate the problem. While refugees’ language skills are improving, time constraints due to the need to earn money and care for families hamper further educational pursuits, creating a persistent obstacle to better employment prospects.

In the Prague daily Lidové noviny Lenka Štěpánková highlights an even more worrying trend among the younger generation of Ukrainian refugees: roughly three-quarters of refugee teens are not in school, a trend experts warn could fuel crime, strain social services, and squander potential labour market contributions. This educational gap stems from a complex interplay of factors—reluctance, capacity constraints in secondary schools, language barriers, and insufficient social benefits to cover living costs while studying. Paradoxically, as she  notes in another story, Ukrainian refugees are net contributors to the Czech exchequer, their fiscal input outweighing their draw on public resources.

In Hungary, Ukrainian refugees, even those with Hungarian citizenship – primarily Transcarpathian Roma – face, according to the news portal Mérce, similarly precarious circumstances. A substantial portion of Ukrainian refugees are engaged in undeclared work, regardless of their qualifications. Women typically work as cleaners, men as construction workers. This situation particularly burdens lower-status refugees, with Roma being an especially vulnerable group. For highly educated, middle-class refugees, the predicament is different but equally troubling: despite advanced degrees or qualifications, language barriers force many into manual labour outside their expertise. 

Refugees, particularly women, face severe forms of exploitation beyond the labour market. In La Razón, Rocío Crespo reports that Spanish police, collaborating with Europol, have dismantled a trafficking network that lured women with false promises of flight attendant positions, only to force them into prostitution in southern Spain‘s clubs.

On Watson, a Swiss news portal, Chantal Stäubli notes that while Ukrainian refugees generally enjoy better conditions than those arriving via Mediterranean or Balkan routes, thanks to clearer protection status and safer escape routes, they are not immune to exploitation. Cases have emerged in Germany and Switzerland where men have offered Ukrainian women accommodation in exchange for sex, highlighting the persistent vulnerability of even relatively privileged refugee groups.

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Ádám Kolozs | 444 | 30 July | HU

Hungary’s relaxation of visa rules for Russians has triggered concerns in Brussels. Manfred Weber, European People’s Party president, warns this could open a door for Russian espionage in the EU. In a letter to European Council President Charles Michel, Weber calls for urgent action at the next EU summit. The new policy, effective July, extends Hungary’s National Card work permit to Russians and Belarusians, alongside select Balkan nationalities. The streamlined process, which waives specific labour need certifications, has raised security concerns. Critics warn of potential unchecked Russian entry into the Schengen area, likening the risks to those of previously sanctioned Russian-owned entities. While Hungary cites labour needs for its Paks 2 nuclear project, Weber questions the necessity of this new system, arguing it could facilitate espionage. Weber urges EU leaders to take strong measures to protect Schengen integrity and prevent similar unilateral actions by member states. As Russia-West tensions persist, Hungary’s approach to visa policy threatens to create a new rift in EU security strategy.

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