key: cord-0858146-3ccjimgg
authors: Kowalewska, Dorota; Adamczyk, Anita; Trojanowska–Strzęboszewska, Monika
title: Dataset of Ukrainian Migrant Workers Opinions on their Stay in Poland during COVID-19 Lockdown
date: 2021-09-22
journal: Data Brief
DOI: 10.1016/j.dib.2021.107415
sha: 21c6f228bbf5cef3208a6a3a408f35a854f87a01
doc_id: 858146
cord_uid: 3ccjimgg

The study contains a dataset from survey on the opinions of labour migrants from Ukraine in Poland, collected at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants (conducted in May and June 2020) were 617 migrant workers from Ukraine who remained in Poland during the first period of the pandemic in Poland. Due to limitations in face-to-face contact, the survey was conducted online (Google Forms questionnaire). The developed questionnaire was available in three languages: Ukrainian, Polish and Russian. The researchers were supported in sending the questionnaire by NGOs, Ukrainian minority organisations, as well as labour migrants from Ukraine who had participated in previous research conducted by the team. The questionnaire contained 34 questions (in three languages: Ukrainian, Polish and Russian), including attribute variables of the participants). Questions addressed issues such as perception of COVID risks, changes in the respondent's labor market situation, and assessment of their quality-of-life changes. The study will contribute to the knowledge of institutions and NGOs that work with labour migrants. The data collected provides a starting point for comparing the situation of migrant workers one year after the pandemic. The results of the study can be taken into account when planning migration management in the host country.

Social Science

Situation of labour migrants from Ukraine in the first COVID-19 lockdown period in Poland Type of data Aggregated tables, raw data in .xls format How data were acquired Survey

The participants of the survey were 617 Ukrainian migrant workers who have remained in Poland during first COVID-19 lockdown in Poland. Due to epidemic restrictions, an online survey tool was used.

The study was conducted in May and June 2020 using an online survey (Google Forms questionnaire). The research team developed a set of questions in three languages: Ukrainian, Polish and Russian. Since the online migrant survey required the credibility of the researchers in the study group, the snowball sampling and anonymous questionnaire were applied. Online distribution was supported initially by NGOs working with migrants, Ukrainian minority organizations in Poland, and migrants who had previously participated in research conducted by the team. Since the participation was self-selected, sample could not be weighted.

During the post-implementation control, 62 questionnaires that were filled out incorrectly or incompletely were discarded. The questionnaire and raw data were translated into English.

 The survey contributes to the expertise of institutions and NGOs that work with labour migrants. The pandemic situation increases the amount of information that migrants had to understand both in the area of work and the possibility to get help. It is important to notice the problems of people who, due to insufficient knowledge of the language of the host country, did not understand all the safety information and lockdown measures.  The dataset concerns labor migrants' obtaining information about restrictions or seeking information about possible support from the host country. The results can be important for both NGOs and social support institutions about how, where, and in what language (whether migrants' language is relevant or whether they rather get information from sites in the language of the host country) to post relevant information.  The data provides a starting point for comparing the situation of migrant workers one

year after the pandemic. It should be noted that more pandemics are possible in the future, so the results of the study can be taken into account when planning migration management in the host country The survey involved 617 respondents aged 19 to 79, with a significant majority of women (71.3%). More than half of the respondents have been living in Poland for more than 2 years (after adding up the answers "2-5 years" and "more than 5 years"). Mazowieckie and Zachodniopomorskie voivodships were the most represented in the sample, but this over-representation should not affect further analysis of the situation of migrants during the pandemic, as in the surveyed period, different rules and restrictions for different regions had not yet been introduced (the same regulations applied throughout Poland). Respondents living in large cities were dominant (34.2% live in a city of 100,000 to 500,000 residents, and 27.4% resided in a city of more than half a million residents) (see Table 1 . Socio-demographic variables). table 3 . with multiple answers). 49.1% of respondents declared that their economic situation deteriorated during the pandemic, 47.5% that it did not change. 9.1% declared the pandemic forced them to apply for social care benefits (this level remains unchanged as 11.8% say they received benefits before the pandemic). The most frequently mentioned reasons for the deterioration of respondent situation were: reduced salaries, food price increases, loss of the job (see Table 5 .). According to the respondents the most common reasons for staying in Poland were having a job (59.2%) and having plans to live in Poland (45.2%). For 23.7% the reason for staying in Poland was better (than in Ukraine) medical care (see Table 6 .). The decision of the Polish authorities to close the borders was assessed positively by the migrant workers surveyed. The most frequently identified source of information about regulations during a pandemic by respondents was their employer and websites (Facebook included) (see table 7.). Tables 8, 9 and 10). The employer's attitude towards me has not changed -the employer has always helped me 348 56.4

The employer's attitude towards me has not changed -the employer has not helped me before 194 31.4

The employer's attitude towards me worsened 40 6.5

Total 617 100.0 

The situation of migrant workers in pandemic conditions is specific and includes issues such as cut-off of return/limitation of mobility, overcoming language barriers to accessing safety information, changes in the labour market (layoffs, bankruptcies, work stoppages). The questionnaire was referring to these issues and developed on the basis of studies on migrant workers' opinions regarding crisis situations and changes in living conditions in the host country [1, 2, 3, 4] .

The questionnaire contained 34 questions (in three languages: Ukrainian, Polish and Russian), including attribute variables of the participants). Questions addressed issues such as perception of COVID risks, changes in the respondent's labor market situation, and assessment of their quality-of-life changes.

The survey was conducted in May and June 2020 using an online form. The participants were 617 Ukrainian migrant workers who have remained in Poland during first COVID-19 lockdown. Participation was voluntary and participants were allowed to refuse or withdraw from the survey at any time.

Only the completed questionnaires were included in the dataset. The questionnaire (pdf attached) and raw data were translated into English. Data were processed anonymously; For descriptive statistics Excel file was imported to IBM SPSS 26.

This manuscript has not been published elsewhere or it is not under consideration for publication for other journals. Participants were fully instructed about the survey aim and requirements and were informed that by agreeing to fill in the web questionnaire they confirmed their participation, automatically providing an informed consent. The Commission for Ethics for Social Science Research of University of Szczecin Institute confirmed that in accordance with the national legislation appropriate informed consent was obtained (approval number BN/01/03/2020). The survey did not collect any identifiable information from the participants. 

Migrant workers and COVID-19

Socjologia migracji przed pande ią i w czasach pandemii-"nowa genera ja" teorii migracji i adaptacji w kontekś ie współ zesny wyzwań badawczych

The impact of distance learning on the social practices of schoolchildren during the COVID-19 pandemic: reconstructing values of migrant children in Poland

Role of Greek Cat oli C ur in t e Integration Pro ess of Labour Migrants in Poland

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships which have or could be perceived to have influenced the work reported in this article.