[ad_1]
On December 29 of last year, it was announced that the State Labor Inspectorate had drawn up a protocol for administrative misconduct for a company and imposed a fine of 17,360 euros for illegal work. According to the SLI, 20 Ukrainians were allegedly employed in Polish companies and sent to Lithuania to carry out various construction works. This scheme of fictitious movement of foreigners to the Vilnius construction sites was clarified by the Vilnius Joint Operations Center (VJOC).
The Tripartite Council raised questions about why a minimum fine of 868 euros per illegal worker was imposed: if it is known that it is a scheme, why is the name of the sanctioned company, the name of the shipping company not made public , what preventive measures are planned to prevent such schemes from working in Lithuania.
Aurelija Maldutytė, director of the Lithuanian Employment Companies Association, was surprised that few penalties are imposed for illegal work. He feared that illegal workers would not have social guarantees if an event occurred at work.
“The scheme, as I understand it, is large: if there were 20 employees and if the investigation was long, 17 thousand. the fine in euros seems very small. And in the comments it was written by the people who here are like a tear in the sea and promote such illicit things with such small fines ”, the employer representative wanted to know in detail the situation.
VDI: there is also a risk of criminal liability
Birutė Macijauskienė, Head of the Legal Division of the State Labor Inspectorate (VDI), reported that in this case the investigation of the Financial Crimes Investigation Service on the application of criminal responsibility is still ongoing. As a result, the name or details of the company cannot be disclosed.
He explained that the VJOC is even made up of several institutions, such as the State Tax Inspectorate, the FNTT, the VDI, the State Food and Veterinary Service, among others, which usually carry out separate investigations.
“These centers deal with more important cases and coordinate their activities with the STI. Initially, the initiative, the pilot model, was initiated by the SLI and then, when the model was successful, the STI took over. This case is one of those established by this COV. The SLI has completed the investigation in one part, in regards to illegal work, ”said B. Macijauskienė.
He revealed that he had contacted Poland for information on whether Ukrainian workers had been employed in Poland.
“We have IMI, which is an internal market system for the exchange of information between authorities. Through that system, we contacted Polish officials to find out if employees are employed in a Polish company / We have received a response that these employees are not employed, ”said a representative from SLI.
In response to criticism for the small amount of the fine, he explained that the penalty is decided by the inspector, taking into account a number of factors, including the ability of the company to pay the fine in general.
“In this case, there was a protocol and VDI opinion and it was simply the inspector who, when issuing the opinion, evaluated both the mitigating and aggravating circumstances and the financial assistance of legal persons and the financial viability of enforcing that sanction. The inspector himself assessed that the sanction would achieve its objectives, and such a sanction was imposed, ”said B. Macijauskienė.
The operation was launched earlier this year, in cooperation with the Lithuanian and Polish authorities, it was established that the Ukrainians were not employed in Polish companies, their destination was fictitious, and they were working illegally on the Vilnius construction sites.
Promises inspections this year
A representative of the SLI informed the Tripartite Council that many inspections were planned in cooperation with Sodra this year.
“We have planned a planned action, we noticed violations with fictitious publications. We have planned a specific campaign that together with Sodra we will evaluate the most risky companies and we will send them preventive letters and we will go to inspections in the most risky companies”, says B. Macijauskienė.
She named the construction sector as one of the most problematic, with the highest risk of illegal work.
When asked how he ensures that “employees do not run away” during the inspection, a representative from SLI assured that the police would be used if necessary.
“We are still waiting for the manufacturer’s card, which would be really very relevant for us. By going to the construction object, we could see what should be on it, what should not be on it ”, suggested B. Macijauskienė a solution.
It also lacks a database of subcontractors, which would allow controlling what activities are performed by specific subcontractors at specific sites, so that it is clear to whom to apply responsibility.
In the case of the employment of the aforementioned Ukrainians, liability was clarified by the recorded facts that a particular company paid wages in cash in Lithuania.
“We hope that when the requirement to pay wages in a bank account is fulfilled, payments and abuses of cash payments will be limited,” a VDI spokeswoman told the Tripartite Council.
It is strictly prohibited to use the information published by DELFI on other websites, in the media or elsewhere, or to distribute our material in any form without consent, and if consent has been obtained, it is necessary to cite DELFI as the source.
[ad_2]
