„Tygodnik Solidarność” has revealed shocking data from the State Labour Inspectorate (PIP) for 2024, which show the enormous scale of neglect in the Polish labour market. Of 36,900 inspected foreigners, 7,192 were working illegally. Every fifth foreign worker without a contract, without oversight and without any rights.
But this is only the tip of the iceberg. According to official statistics, over one million foreigners now work in Poland. If we apply the same proportion reported by „Tygodnik Solidarność”, as many as 200,000 people of foreign origin may be working in the grey economy. That is the population of a large Polish city.
How does this happen?
Platforms such as TikTok and Facebook are now full of job advertisements for foreigners. Many of them raise serious doubts about legality and honesty. Colourful videos and posts promise „easy work without formalities”, „instant employment” or „arranging documents” for a fee. Many intermediaries operate outside any oversight, luring people with offers that in practice end in exploitation and undeclared work. It is precisely on these social media that a dangerous grey recruitment market thrives, especially for unsuspecting workers seeking a better life in Poland, but also for Poles who pass foreigners on the streets who are literally ,,placed outside the law”.
Paradise for Janusz
In Poland, many companies knowingly employ foreigners off the books, simply because it pays off for them. This happens across many sectors: from construction and agriculture, through cleaning, catering and industry, to food processing. Employers avoid the costs of contracts, social security contributions and taxes, gaining an advantage over honest competition. The scale of the problem is evident. It is worth recalling the high-profile incident from last year, when during an inspection at meat plants in Małopolska, several illegally working foreigners hid in meat containers to avoid a Border Guard check. The State Labour Inspectorate’s data for 2024 confirm that illegal employment of foreigners in Poland is not an exception but a widespread practice, which enables exploitation in the name of employers not paying taxes.
Immigrants and security
On the night of 5 to 6 July 2025, in the village of Nowe (Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship), a 29-year-old Colombian from a meat plant stabbed a 41-year-old Pole, who died on the spot. Nine Colombians and three Poles were involved in the incident. Meanwhile, 24-year-old Klaudia from Toruń was attacked with a knife by a 19-year-old Venezuelan citizen on 12 June and died two weeks later in hospital. In light of these events, citizens are increasingly concerned about immigration.
These incidents, brutal and needless, give us food for thought. Recently, some politicians and activists have focused on convincing citizens that the biggest problem is immigrants from the German border. Yet it seems that in the whole debate we overlook an important detail: most uncontrolled immigration serves employers avoiding responsibility in Poland. Together with employment agencies, they are responsible for creating a grey economy in Poland that can already be easily compared to human trafficking, and for all the pathology that follows from it. This is not the Poland that honest citizens want.
