“Black business” involving migrants in Russia has gone off scale: Professor Zubets revealed the problem

— How much does the domestic economy need migrant labor?

— If it weren’t for labor migrants, the labor situation in Russia would be very bad. It so happens that today the role they play for our economy is positive. Another thing is that migrants are mainly low-skilled labor, while the domestic economy has a need to attract highly qualified personnel, and this is not being closed with the help of the existing flow of guest workers.

— For what purposes do our labor market need migrants today?

— First of all, they are needed by large businesses, which are interested in large quantities of cheap labor.

But this story didn’t start yesterday. Using migrants allows big businesses, say, developers, to reduce costs and earn more money.

To solve the problem without attracting migrant workers, investments are needed in increasing labor productivity, in automation, etc.

It’s one thing when a contractor, relatively speaking, hires Tajiks, and another thing is to buy equipment that will require a minimum number of workers. It is clear that it is cheaper and easier for businesses to hire Tajiks, so they are lobbying for this story.

True, an important circumstance must be taken into account here: in most cases, the economy as a whole and a specific business in particular need workers “here and now,” and increasing labor productivity often requires many years of investment. It will not be possible to compensate in a short period of time for the lack of investments in increasing labor productivity, which have not been made for decades.

— Is the current volume of labor migrants sufficient for the labor market of our country?

— The current situation on the labor market generally meets the needs of business. According to a number of recruitment agencies, the search for employees over the past year has begun to take longer, not 20 days as before, but 30-35, but in general it is still possible to find the necessary personnel on the Russian market. So all the talk about how we desperately need migrant workers is an exaggeration and lobbying for the interests of big business.

— And in five years or a decade?

— Firstly, we must assume that during this time labor productivity in Russia will increase and the necessary investments will be made. Secondly, no serious reductions in the working-age population are expected during the indicated period. Thus, if we are talking about the situation “here and now,” then we really cannot do without migrants.

However, if we are talking about a five-year or ten-year period, then this is enough time for business and the government to make the necessary investments in increasing labor productivity. In the long term, the Russian economy does not need migrants, but investments.

— In what areas does the Russian economy need migrants the most?

— In low-skilled jobs: construction, repairs, housing and communal services, logistics, transport services, warehouse work, couriers and agriculture. However, if we talk about the needs of the Russian economy, in order to meet them, we need to change the migration policy and strive to attract specialists from abroad who received a Soviet education, are highly qualified and are ready to work in our country. In this case, they will be able to find employment in medicine, education, and engineering.

One of the problems of our labor market is that we have plenty of low-skilled personnel. For example, you can recruit people from the Chita region or the Trans-Baikal Territory, where there is little production and construction. It is cheaper to attract residents of a number of depressed Russian regions to work than migrants from the CIS.

“So why isn’t this being done then?”

“It’s no secret that organizing the work of migrants has long turned into a corrupt business. Both the so-called “foremen”, who bring compatriots in groups at once, and senior managers who collaborate directly with diasporas, receive money for sending people to work. In the market of public utilities and housing and communal services, people give up to 30% of their salaries either to representatives of ethnic groups who bring them there to work, or the same funds immediately go to officials

— From which countries will migrants be brought to us?

— The CIS labor market has not yet been exhausted for Russia, and it has a number of advantages. In particular, migrants from these countries most often speak Russian.

But there are other states where you can recruit a fairly large number of qualified personnel. For example, Bangladesh: their migrant workers there are ready to work for even lower wages. But Iran has good engineering training, and their specialists will receive more for their work in Russia than in their home country.

In general, you can recruit people anywhere, even bring them from Haiti: there is total poverty there and people are ready to work almost for food. However, another problem may arise here: among these migrants there may be people with extremist views, which can create a real threat to internal security, so migration policy in Russia must be very thoughtful.