Ukrainian Worker

[Lawrence Ross]

Hello, I operate a albergue on the border of Portugal and Spain in a town called Caminha and I would like to hear from Ukrainian people who have previously walked the camino and would like to work at my hostel in exchange for free board/meals during this season until the end of June.
English language is a requirement and preferably Spanish or Portuguese.
The work involves 5 mornings a week from 8am - 12am making beds/laundry/cleaning and one or two hours late afternoon or early evening depending on the number of pilgrims residing.
The facility can accommodate a total 22 persons when fully occupied.


Regards Lawrence Ross

 

[henrythedog]

Do you customarily just pay your staff ‘in kind’ or is this a special concession for multilingual seasonal help in a time of need?

 

[Rebekah Scott]

One in four people under 25 in Portugal are unemployed. If you operate a for-profit business, your workers deserve to be paid a proper wage, whether or not you offer them a place to stay or food. Asking for refugees to "volunteer" to work for you, even if you give them a bed and meals, it is exploitative of the workers and will inevitably create problems with the unemployed locals around you. War refugees, even ones who are former pilgrims in need of housing, are not "volunteers." They are people in need of stable work and a dignified wage.
Volunteers -- people who work for the good of all, not an individual or business -- built the Camino. Volunteers keep it going, and keep its spirit of disinterested generosity alive.
Unless you are running a non-profit albergue, exploiting that goodwill for a free labor force is not just bad karma, it's also illegal.

 

[peregrina2000]

I am going to close this thread until someone can provide evidence that what is being proposed here is legal. I know that it would not be legal in Spain, and I assume the same is true in Portugal. But if I am wrong about that, please PM me.