Russian Rules Unlikely to Deter Tajik Migrant Workers
Russian Rules Unlikely to Deter Tajik Migrant Workers
Although new regulations banning foreign nationals from trading at markets in Russia will make life harder for workers from Tajikistan, migration experts doubt the change will force large numbers of migrants to return home.
Laws designed to set a quota on labour migrants and subsequently ban them from working at Russian markets came into force in January 2007. By April 1, foreign nationals should account for no more than 40 per cent of the total number of market traders and street vendors. After that date, they will be banned from working in the informal retail sector altogether.
Figures from Tajikistan’s state migration service show that as of December 2006, there were 277,000 citizens employed abroad, most of them in Russia. There are up to 600,000 Tajik seasonal workers in Russia, although unofficial sources put the number closer to 1.5 million.
Khojimahmad Umarov, a Tajik political scientist, says that there are no accurate statistics on the likely number of Tajikistan nationals who will have to give up their jobs as market traders, but that some estimates indicate that this category accounts for between 30 and 50 per cent of Tajiks working in Russia.
Yet Umarov does not predict a large exodus of Tajiks from Russia. “These labour migrants mainly come from rural areas of Tajikistan where there is literally no work for them. They leave in order to support their families, because they can’t do so here. They don’t care where they work or who they work for.”
He concluded, “The ban on retail trading will simply mean the migrants will look for jobs in other areas, particularly in the construction industry and other manual work where no qualifications are needed.”
Government representatives share Umarov’s view. Migration service chief Anvar Boboev is not anticipating a fall in the number of labour migrants over the next few years.
“Official figures show that around 100,000 new jobs are created every year in Tajikistan, but low wage rates mean people are still going abroad,” he said.
The statistics show that average pay in Tajikistan is about 30 to 35 US dollars a month, whereas in Russia even a run-of-the-mill skilled worker can bring in 300 dollars or more.
Venira Irkabaeva, a senior expert with the socioeconomic department of Tajikistan’s Trade Union Federation, believes the flow of labour migrants will actually grow. “Don’t count on a drop in labour migration,” she said.
(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)
Laws designed to set a quota on labour migrants and subsequently ban them from working at Russian markets came into force in January 2007. By April 1, foreign nationals should account for no more than 40 per cent of the total number of market traders and street vendors. After that date, they will be banned from working in the informal retail sector altogether.
Figures from Tajikistan’s state migration service show that as of December 2006, there were 277,000 citizens employed abroad, most of them in Russia. There are up to 600,000 Tajik seasonal workers in Russia, although unofficial sources put the number closer to 1.5 million.
Khojimahmad Umarov, a Tajik political scientist, says that there are no accurate statistics on the likely number of Tajikistan nationals who will have to give up their jobs as market traders, but that some estimates indicate that this category accounts for between 30 and 50 per cent of Tajiks working in Russia.
Yet Umarov does not predict a large exodus of Tajiks from Russia. “These labour migrants mainly come from rural areas of Tajikistan where there is literally no work for them. They leave in order to support their families, because they can’t do so here. They don’t care where they work or who they work for.”
He concluded, “The ban on retail trading will simply mean the migrants will look for jobs in other areas, particularly in the construction industry and other manual work where no qualifications are needed.”
Government representatives share Umarov’s view. Migration service chief Anvar Boboev is not anticipating a fall in the number of labour migrants over the next few years.
“Official figures show that around 100,000 new jobs are created every year in Tajikistan, but low wage rates mean people are still going abroad,” he said.
The statistics show that average pay in Tajikistan is about 30 to 35 US dollars a month, whereas in Russia even a run-of-the-mill skilled worker can bring in 300 dollars or more.
Venira Irkabaeva, a senior expert with the socioeconomic department of Tajikistan’s Trade Union Federation, believes the flow of labour migrants will actually grow. “Don’t count on a drop in labour migration,” she said.
(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)
