From January to the end of August 2026, the Border defender inspected over 2,000 foreigners in Warmia and Mazury. Almost 580 worked against regulations, most in construction. The courts have fined controlled entrepreneurs over 180 1000 zlotys. It is simply a signal that the state must defend the legitimate labour marketplace more effectively.
Almost 580 cases of illegal work
Warmia-Masurian Border defender Branch reportedthat from January to the end of August 2026 over 2,000 foreigners were controlled. In the case of almost 580 people, officers have found work incompatible with regulations. This means that the problem does not concern a single company or a single county, but a noticeable part of the regional labour market.
The weaknesses were specific. Employers have entrusted work without the required permission, under conditions another than those specified in papers or without the conclusion of a contract. In specified a situation, an honest entrepreneur who bears the cost of legal employment must compete with an entity circumventing the rule. He besides loses an worker who does not receive a basic paper confirming the conditions of employment.
You can't reverse responsibility. Controlled foreigners are 1 side of the employment relationship, but it is the entrepreneur who arranges the employment and determines its conditions. If the company deliberately circumvents the procedure, it harms the employee, legal competition and the state. Therefore, an effective policy must combine checking the right of residence and work with consistent control of those who benefit from the infringements.
Construction with the highest percent of infringements
Most cases of illegal work were found in the construction industry, which was liable for 28 percent of the failures. Labour mediation with a consequence of 24% and a production sector of 21% continued. Data show where controls should be peculiarly consistent: in sectors utilizing the abroad labour force widely and in employment agency services.
Labour mediation takes a peculiar place in these data. An additional entity appears between the company in request of hands for work and the foreigner, who is liable for papers and the management of employees. The longer the chain of responsibility, the easier it is to blur the blame. The State cannot let this. Each phase of employment must be verifiable.
Among those working against the rules, 54% were Colombian citizens, 10% were Indian citizens and 5% were Indonesian and Uzbekistan citizens. Nationality does not prejudge guilt or relieve the employer of responsibility. It is the companies entrusted with the work that are obliged to check the papers and conclude a legal agreement. Previous cases of illegal employment of foreigners confirm that the State must strike the mechanics of breaking the rules, not limit itself to ad hoc actions.
Ostróda, Kętrzyn and Gołdap advanced in statistics
The largest share of the identified deficiencies fell on the Ostródzki district, 15 percent. In Kętrzyn and Gołdapów districts, this was 12 percent, 11 percent in Olsztyn, and 8 percent in Elk and Lydzbarów. specified distribution should set priorities for subsequent checks, especially where production facilities, construction companies and labour intermediaries operate.
The courts of Warmia and Mazur have fined controlled entrepreneurs for a full amount of over PLN 180 thousand. The sum itself is impressive, but the real test is the cost-effectiveness of law enforcement. If the savings achieved by circumventing the rules outweigh the hazard of punishment, the unfair model will reproduce itself. Control must so be frequent, and sanctions must be felt and inevitable.
The scale of the fines should not obscure the most crucial question: whether the origin of the infringements disappears after control. Repeated action is needed on sectors and intermediaries with problems and fast exchange of information between the competent institutions. The law is to operate continuously, not from a communication to a communication.
Legal labour marketplace is in the interest of Poland
The Polish economy can benefit from the work of foreigners, but only on the principles established by the Polish state. Freedom of economical activity does not mean the right to circumvent permits, to change agreed terms or to employment without contract. Otherwise, the costs are borne by honest companies, employees and public institutions.
Legality is not a bureaucratic addition. It is simply a condition for fair competition and a tool to defend man from exploitation. A company that employs legally cannot be punished with higher costs for its own integrity, while a competitor builds an advantage in circumventing the rules. specified a mechanics destroys assurance in the state and the market.
Effective enforcement by the Border Guard is 1 of the elements of strategy control recovery. The second must be the hard settlement of employers and intermediaries who gain money by circumventing the law. The stakes for Poles are equal conditions of competition, employment safety and certainty that the principles on our marketplace are decided by the Republic of Poland, not by the interests of a dishonest intermediary.
Source: Warmia-Masurian Border defender Division, September 7, 2026.
Source: Radio Olsztyn
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