Ukrainian worker dies in Poland after employer abandons him
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A Ukrainian man who fainted on the job in Poland was found dead in a forest after his employer dropped him off there rather than call an ambulance.
The man's body was discovered in western Poland by a forester on June 13, but the death of 36-year-old Vasyl Chorny was only reported Monday by the daily Gazeta Wyborcza. The newspaper said Chorny was working in a coffin workshop without legal documentation in Poland, which was why his employer did not call for medical help.
The case highlights the vulnerability of many Ukrainians working in Poland, where a booming economy has attracted workers from the eastern neighbor whose economy has been paralyzed by corruption and war.
Some 1.2 million Ukrainians are officially registered in Poland but migration experts believe that hundreds of thousands more could be working here illegally.
The Ukrainian man reportedly became weak and started having convulsions before he fainted in the hot and fuel-filled carpenters' workshop in the village of Jastrzebsko Stare on June 12. His colleagues told investigators that the company owner, who has been identified only as Grazyna F. due to privacy laws, forbade the others from calling an ambulance because she did not want to be caught with undocumented workers.
She was arrested last week and has been charged with failing to help a person in immediate danger and unintentionally causing his death. She could face up to five years in prison if convicted.
