By Edgaras Savickas, LRT.lt.

Lithuania is debating whether to create a dedicated fund to support exploited migrant workers, financed by a new charge on employers who recruit staff from abroad — though the government says it has no current plans to introduce new taxes, and business groups are opposed.

The proposal comes after a preliminary investigation was opened into the alleged exploitation of around 140 Filipino workers at two poultry farms in the Rudamina and Kaišiadorys areas.

The head of the Lithuanian Trade Union Alliance, Audrius Cuzanauskas, says similar cases of abuse are widespread across the construction, transport and services sectors, and that organisations defending affected migrants are chronically short of funds.

A model borrowed from existing law

Cuzanauskas is proposing a new Integration Fund modelled on Lithuania’s existing Guarantee Fund – a scheme under which employers pay a small monthly levy, currently 0.16 per cent of an employee’s declared salary, which is used to pay workers if their employer becomes insolvent. The Guarantee Fund held assets of 206 million euros at the end of 2025.

“It’s the same principle,” he said. “The Guarantee Fund was created because when companies went bankrupt, everything fell on the state – or worse, workers lost everything. That system has proved itself and works very well.”

Read more: LRT.LT