MELINA MÖRSDORF

I met this woderful soul in February this year:
„Wioletta Szala went from administrative employee in Upper Silesia to „certified care worker“ in just one week. That’s how long the crash course took to prepare her for her job in Germany. In 2018, she started working for a placement agency. Today, she is happy to have made the transition.
Even starting the job was outrageous. In return for the course in elderly care and housekeeping, Szala had to commit to accepting a job for at least three months afterwards. The contractual penalty, should she change her mind: 3000 zlotys, just under 700 euros. That’s a lot of money for someone who earns a few hundred euros a month in Poland. In addition, the Pronobel agency promised to reimburse the training costs in this case and demanded a blank check from her. First she was promised 800 euros per month, later 1200 euros. Only a small part was apparently paid as wages subject to social security contributions. The company calculated the pension contributions from very modest amounts. For Szala, this means lower pension payments in old age.“

Fortunately, Wioletta found a loving husband in her client’s son Hartmut, who supports her in her fight against the agency. Her mother-in-law has since passed away and all that remains of her is her little bird, which Wioletta and her husband once bought to make her happy.