Kamran (not his real name) migrated to Poland from Azerbaijan in 2018
He is a storekeeper at a factory that manufactures parts for the car industry in the south-eastern town of Skoczów
The factory is a melting pot of eastern European nationalities
They are considered by local employers as sources of cheap and dependable labour
Kamran resides in Skoczów with a short-term residence permit
The former journalist says he was unable to support his wife and two children on his salary of ₼600 ($350) back in Azerbaijan
At least now I can send some money back to Baku to support my family
I hope to soon be able to bring them here.’
30,000 Azerbaijani citizens were registered as living in Europe in 2018
The vast majority of Azerbaijanis in Europe live in Germany
but Poland’s fast-growing economy has attracted increasing numbers of migrants from Azerbaijan
Official data from the Polish Interior Ministry shows a sevenfold increase in Azerbaijani citizens living in Poland in 2017 compared to the previous year
Azerbaijani citizens are required to obtain a visa to work in Europe
Kamran explains that many of his compatriots’ visas are organised by middlemen tasked with sourcing cheap labour
who are able to do so for only around €2,000 per worker
many migrant workers complain that they are not provided with the jobs they were promised before arriving in Poland
Many are pressured into employment at factories with bad working conditions they were not warned of prior to arrival
‘Some factories are very harmful to human health
Some Georgians employed there couldn’t stand the harmful chemicals used
Agencies collude with employers to bypass Polish law normally limiting work to 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week
for this service sometimes they receive payment for each overtime hour worked by the employees — at other times
Kamran’s contract officially pays 2,600 złoty ($660) per month
But he told OC Media he works 12-hour days and is paid under the table for overtime
He says he makes around 400 złoty ($100) extra per month from illicit overtime
He sends around €500 ($550) to his family each month
Few migrants in Poland see any appeal in joining a trade union or immigrant advocacy organisation
which could help them fight to improve their pay and working conditions
Workers fear demanding the legal rights they are entitled to will lead to legal problems
as work permits are tied to particular employers
‘Migrants in Poland don’t care about their legal rights
They only think about money,’ says Elshan (not his real name)
a middleman in Poland who organises contracts for Azerbaijani migrants
He says around 100 migrants came to him seeking work last year
He takes a cut of contracts successfully signed with factories and construction firms
‘Some say that migrants are cheated out of money and promised work
they come here themselves with no job or place to live
and then find themselves surprised that they have no money.’ He says that he sometimes helps migrants pro bono
Azerbaijani migrants usually find Elshan through ads on social networks
offer Azerbaijanis work in factories or the construction sector in Poland
They advertise hourly wages of between 12 and 15 złoty ($3.00-$3.80)
lower than the legal minimum wage of 17 złoty ($4.40)
and Azerbaijanis find work in poultry farms and abattoirs
where the conditions are too difficult for locals
Poles don’t want to work there,’ says Elshan
Teimur moved to Warsaw in 2017 with his family
with the aim of finding a better job than he could in Azerbaijan
I couldn’t provide for my entire family on that amount of money
He initially planned to move to Canada with his family
An agency promised to help him secure the right documents and find a job
but later told him that he could only go to Poland
‘I had already paid the agency €4,500 ($5,000) — €1,500 per family member — before they told me they’d be able to find me a job that paid €1,000 ($1,100) per month in Poland’
Teimur found work in a kebab shop on a salary of 2,200 złoty ($560)
There was no way that I could provide for my family on that salary.’
He eventually found another job in the construction sector but says he was cheated out of 1,200 złoty ($300) in his most recent paycheck
When he tried to complain to the National Labour Inspectorate
the government body responsible for supervising the implementation of labour law
Questions regarding the rights of migrant workers were addressed by OC Media to the National Labour Inspectorate and All-Poland Alliance of Trade Unions
who teaches at the Centre of Migration Studies at Warsaw University
told OC Media that the weak legal framework in Poland makes it difficult for NGOs to help enforce the rights of migrants
Klaus says few migrants use the legal system because of the hurdles in their way
Migrants cannot participate in court proceedings if they are not in Poland at the time of the trial — while the court process itself gives no right to stay in Poland
all proceedings are in Polish and the government does not cover the costs of translation
the Azerbaijani government’s Committee on the Diaspora Workforce began providing free legal support to Azerbaijani migrants in Poland
told OC Media that the body has only received three discrimination-related complaints so far
and podcasts from the North and South Caucasus
The EU looks the other way as Azerbaijan jails journalists and crushes dissent
Officials in Tbilisi are surely taking note
Syrian and Azerbaijani state news agency coverage of the visit emphasised energy talks between Damascus and Baku
Netanyahu’s office has denied reports of Turkey blocking its airspace
instead citing developments on Israel’s borders
Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry called the decision by Russia ‘an unfriendly step’
A jury at the high court in Edinburgh took three-and-a-half hours to convict Peter Tobin
of the sexually-motivated killing last year
Ms Kluk's sister Aneta shouted "thank you" to the jury
Judge Lord Menzies told Tobin: "What you did to Angelika Kluk was inhuman ..
suffered severe head injuries from a piece of wood and 16 stab wounds from a knife
Her bound and gagged body was then dumped beneath the floor of St Patrick's Church in the Anderston area of Glasgow
The student from Skoczow near Krakow had been staying at the chapel house attached to the church and working as a cleaner to help finance her studies in Gdansk
Police found her body - which had terrible injuries - on September 29 under the church's floor
a genial handyman who helped out around the church
In fact Peter Tobin had been jailed for 14 years in 1994 for a savage rape and sexual assault on two 14 and 15 year old girls
a case that the trial judge at the time called "the worst I have ever come across"
Tobin had been painting a garden shed in the chapel grounds with Ms Kluk the day before she was reported missing
He had denied the attack on Ms Kluk and claimed she had consented to having sex with him
But the prosecution had argued he was responsible for an attack which it described as an "atrocity"
Lord Menzies told the killer he had never come across a "more tragic
The judge said that after Tobin had beaten
raped and killed his victim he dragged her through the church and dumped her like she was "rubbish"
"All this shows utter contempt and disdain for the life of an innocent young woman with her whole life ahead of her," the judge said
Aneta Kluk said in a statement released by Strathclyde police: "My father and I are relieved that the man responsible for Angelika's death is now likely to spend the rest of his days behind bars
We would both like to thank all of the Scottish public for their support during this horrific time."
Tobin was also convicted of perverting the course of justice after giving police officers a false name and address and fleeing shortly after the killing
He was eventually arrested at a hospital in London while seeking treatment for cardiac trouble under a false name after Strathclyde police made a public appeal
Tobin receives an automatic life sentence for murder and his 21-year tariff means that he must serve this amount of time before he can seek parole
the jury heard of Ms Kulk's complicated love life
Father Gerry Nugent claimed that he had a short sexual relationship with Ms Kluk in 2005
Fr Nugent was sacked by the Archbishop of Glasgow before the trial began
The jury of eight women and seven men also heard from married chauffer Martin Macaskill
with whom Ms Kluk had been conducting a passionate affair of a few weeks when she died; Mr Macaskill's wife Anne had been aware of the relationship and was apparently prepared to tolerate it
Tobin's defence QC Donald Findlay had argued in his closing speech that there was evidence to connect the priest in some way with the woman's death
Mr Findlay said Fr Nugent and trial witness Matthew Spark-Egan seemed to have knowledge about where and how Ms Kluk's body was hidden
Fr Nugent repeatedly told the court: "I know nothing about her death or the circumstances of her death."
The judge reminded the jury that neither Fr Nugent nor Mr Spark-Egan were facing charges at this trial.