With a population seven times smaller than Poland, Slovakia generates less labour migration than its big neighbour, but the proportion is the same. Slovaks are also less 'visible' in Western countries because many of them are students who finished their studies in the West and are already integrated there. EurActiv Slovakia reports.
Background
Of the then EU 15 members, only the UK, Ireland and Sweden opened their labour markets to 2004's eastern newcomers (Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Slovenia) upon their accession on 1 May that year.
Greece, Finland, Italy, Spain and Portugal lifted their restrictions on these countries in 2006, Luxembourg and the Netherlands did so in 2007, France in 2008, and Belgium and Denmark on 1 May 2009.
Austria and Germany kept the restrictions in place after May 2009, leading the Czech EU Presidency to criticise Vienna and Berlin for what they called an "unjustified" decision to maintain labour restrictions five years after the 2004 enlargement wave.
Five years after the country joined the EU, higher wages and better perspectives for professional growth are still draw Slovaking labour force to the United Kingdom and Ireland. Every year, Slovaks working abroad send around 1 billion euros home as assistance to their relatives, experts estimate.
Coming from a small country of some 5.3 million, Slovaks in the UK are "less visible", although proportionally to the population their migration rate is similar to that of Poland. As was the case for other labour migrants from the east, some Slovaks returned home due to the crisis, and others were discouraged from leaving.
Also, since 2004, the dynamics of labour migration have decreased in Slovakia: with an important exception, however. An overwhelming majority of university students declare their readiness to look for jobs abroad (by contrast, the internal labour migration potential in Slovakia is quite low). Labour migration also helps improve national unemployment statistics.
No confirmed date exist as to the number of Slovaks abroad, be they legal or illegal. However, according to official estimates, their number is believed to be between 230,000-240,000 people (the data, from May 2009, were communicated by the head office for labour, social and family issues).
Slovak labour migration culminated in 2008. In 2009, several thousand migrants returned home as a result of the global economic downturn. One year after Slovakia’s EU accession, around 120,000 people were already working in the EU. Every year there was an increase of several thousand, reaching a peak last year (250,000).
'School for life'
Labour migration in developed Western countries is often seen by young Slovaks as a way to improve their skills and qualifications.
Klára Fekiačová, until recently without work, is now working as project manager in an international company based in Slovakia, thanks to experience she gained in the UK.
"After I finished high school, I had several months before the start of the first semester at university, so I decided to spend that time abroad," Fekiačová explains.
She went to London for several reasons: to improve her English, earn enough money to fund her studies and see friends already living there, she said. Even though she did not use a job agency, she found employment as office assistance quite quickly.
"I worked five hours a day and earned thrice as much as any full-time employee at the same position in Slovakia. I would say it was 'the school of life' because I did not have any work experience and also I became absolutely independent from the support of my parents, and after returning home I found a good job due to my improved language skills," says Fekiačová.
'Czechoslovak' migration
The largest proportion of Slovak workers settled in the Czech Republic – around 90,000. This can be attributed to the familiarity of the country, which both peoples shared until 1993, and the similar language. Next are the UK (around 60,000), Ireland (40,000) and Hungary (15,000).
There are significant differences between the migrants that work in the Czech Republic and those settled in Great Britain, for example. The average age of the latter is significantly lower (22.8-27.1) compared to the average age of Slovak workers in the Czech Republic (32.8-36), which again points to a younger generation heading for Western countries.
Medical exodus
On the negative side, sometimes educated Slovaks work in the West in low-level positions, just because they are better paid there than they would be in a qualified position at home that corresponds to their education.
Health associations warn that the drain of skilled health professionals is becoming more and more of a problem for Slovak society. The issue has attracted the attention of the media, which pointed out that the underlying cause is extremely low wages in that sector in the Slovak Republic. No response to the problem has yet been found.
To return or not to return?
Neither the considerable growth of the Slovak economy before the crisis nor the strong Slovak currency, which led to the adoption of euro on 1 January 2009 (EurActiv 05/01/09), have convinced those who left to return. Again, in the absence of precise figures, the authorities say that 10,000 new applicants have been registered at job centres.
Some industry sectors in Slovakia like banks and the automotive industry are slowly but increasingly getting ready to employ more and to pay better highly-skilled and educated people returning from abroad. Many of those who accepted jobs below their qualifications are apparently considering returning home to find better positions.
Years ago, when current Prime Minister Robert Fico was in opposition, he accused the centre-right government to generate 400,000 economic migrants. Except for this outburst, the brain drain has never been politicised. Economists generally agree that the brain drain constitutes a problem for the Slovak economy, but on the political level it has never been defined this way. The government says that eliminating regional disparities and creating jobs in regions with high unemployment will prevent people from leaving.
Analysts say that labour migration should not be regarded as a tragedy, pointing out that there is no real need for a national "return strategy". The majority of those seeking work experience abroad declare their willingness to come back after a certain time – when they have gained experience and financial resources.
However, it is very difficult to prove how many people indeed follow this scenario. In Britain and Ireland, for example, there is no obligation to deregister when leaving the country.
'Social consumption' low
An analysis by the leading Slovak foreign policy think-tank, the Slovak Foreign Policy Association (SFPA), shows that fears raised in Britain about the harm of migration from the east for public services in the UK and the country's economy in general are mostly unfounded.
The Slovak foreign ministry also insists that the migration of its nationals to Western Europe is for the most part strictly labour-oriented and temporary. According to the SFPA survey, 59% of Slovak migrant respondents said they planned to stay in UK less than three months. Only 8% said they foresee staying longer than two years.
"There is no empirical proof of a negative impact of labour migrants coming to EU 15 countries," said Zsolt Gal form SFPA. Moreover, the people coming are usually young, willing to work and healthy, they do not present a burden for public services and their "social consumption" is low, experts argue.