Rosyth welcomes new staff members from Ukraine

Consumer Products UK (CPUK) in Rosyth is delighted to welcome Olena Mylokost and Svetlana Khizhyak to the team after their safe arrival to the UK from Ukraine. They were, however, already part of the Mowi family following a coordinated approach which saw management at Rosyth work closely with colleagues in Mowi Poland to get Olena and Svetlana and their extended family out of Ukraine and into the UK.

Gary Paterson, Head of Operations, Mowi Consumer Products UK, picks up the story: “This all started with a handwritten letter from Svitlana Gizlarjans who had been working at Rosyth for six months along with her husband, a long-standing employee. She wrote to her line manager to ask if there was anything Mowi could do to help get her family to safety from Kyiv. The letter was then given to me and from the very first email I sent to our colleagues in Poland, the process to get them safe passage began.”

In the middle of March, Gary got in touch with Robert Zelewski, HR Director, Mowi Central Europe, whose team had already started to evacuate Ukrainian relatives of staff from the Ustka factory in Poland, sending buses to the Poland-Ukraine border to collect them and bring them to safety, reuniting them with their families. Gary was quickly introduced to the project team coordinating the evacuation response from Mowi Poland which included Tetiana Bondarenko, a Ukrainian national working in the HR team, and Iwona Chrapkowska from internal communications.

Gary continues: “I have never felt prouder to work for Mowi and be part of a global team that was able to literally change people’s lives. From the moment I was introduced to Iwona and Tetiana, things started to move quickly. Tetiana, as a Ukrainian national, was able to speak to Svetlana and find out more about her family which included a 10-month-old baby, two children aged three, and four adults. Svetlana was obviously extremely worried and desperate to get them out of the warzone.”

Iwona added: “We are one big Mowi family, so it was obvious we had to help. Tetiana was in contact with the Ukrainian family and I took care of the accommodation and all the paperwork. We kept our fingers crossed that they would get a visa to the UK and we are delighted that they are safe with their family in Scotland.”

On March 24^th, Svitlana’s family made it to Medyka on the Poland-Ukraine border, where they were met by the team from Mowi Poland and taken to a hotel in Warsaw. Mowi covered all accommodation costs while the family applied for visas and passports to gain entry to the UK. After around a month in Warsaw, Gary got news that everything had been sorted and that the family were on their way to Scotland.

Fast forward to May 30^th and Gary received a phone call from the manufacturing manager at CPUK, who had first received the letter from Svetlana, saying that some guests had arrived at reception to see Gary.

Waiting at the reception with big smiles was Svitlana’s family, now settled in Rosyth, who had come to personally thank Gary and Mowi for bringing them to safety. “I was completely overwhelmed. It is a moment I will never forget. I am pleased that there is another chapter in this remarkable story with Olena and Svetlana joining CPUK,” said Gary.

Speaking about having her family with her in Scotland, Svitlana said: “I am so happy to have my family here and extremely grateful to Mowi for making this happen. Thank you to everybody who helped us.”

A warm welcome from everyone at Mowi in Scotland.