Resistance to joining Putin’s ‘Eurasian Economic Union’ (EEU) may have serious consequences for Azerbaijani migrant workers in Russia.
Heated arguments have been taking place in Russia and its ‘near-abroad’ concerning the decision of the governor of Novosibirsk oblast to exclude migrant workers from certain professions.
As reported by vesti.uz,
legal
migrant workers, who have submitted the necessary paperwork and have received work licenses in Russia, have been forbidden to occupy positions in public transport, drive taxis, teach in schools or work in kindergartens. They are also not allowed to be involved with journalism, editing, translation or work as secretaries.
Employers in the Russian oblast have been given three months in order to fire employees in these positions that are not citizens of countries of the EEU. That means Uzbeks, Ukrainians, Azerbaijanis, Tajiks and Moldavians.
The deputy minister of labor of Novosibirsk oblast, Nadezhda Tsvetkova, explains the decision as “an attempt to defend the rights of Russian citizens, in addition to safety, for many migrant workers do not have the right qualifications to occupy a number of positions.”
Citizens of Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, Belarus and Kazakhstan will retain the right to work in Russia in these fields.
Overall, societal opinion on the decision of the governor was approving:
“Tightening transport regulations was an idea we’ve had since April of this year, and is connected to the large number of complaints we’ve had from passengers about drivers from certain countries. Similar measures have been taken in Chelyabinsk, Tver and Sakhalin.” says activist, Rostislov Antonov.
Residents of Siberia complain that migrant workers are given preference over Russians when it comes to hiring in these professions, because they make less noise about their rights, about pension benefits and salary size. Also, they can be fired more easily.
Below is the complete list of professions from which citizens whose countries do not belong to the EEU have been excluded:
Animal husbandry
Fishing
Mining
Sale of timber
Production of baby and diet foods
Working in children’s summer camps
Preschool and elementary education
Secondary education
Public transport
Taxi driving
Ferry guiding
Activities in the financial sector
Activities in law, accounting and auditing
Hiring of work force
Secretarial work, editing services and translation
According to the
Russian population census of 2010
, 603,700 Azerbaijanis currently live in Russia.
***
This article was originally published in Russian on
minval.az
