In Russia, labor migrants from India began to displace Tajiks: “They are not spoiled by money”

The manager of an industrial company told which countries people come to Russia to work from

There are more than 11 million labor migrants in Russia from visa-free neighboring countries. But the situation may soon change. Indians and Chinese are stepping on the heels of citizens of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, vying to take places at Russian enterprises. The head of the far abroad department of the Finval company, Sergei Suvorov, told at a conference on employment what is happening in the labor market for foreign workers.

The labor shortage in Russia is 40%; Half (54%) of companies lack staff. At the same time, citizens of neighboring countries continue to leave our country. A striking example: the Sinyavinskaya poultry farm in the Leningrad region in August of this year was on the verge of closure, since 30% of citizens of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan left for their homeland.

Why do residents of CIS countries leave Russia? The first and main reason is the sharp drop in the ruble exchange rate, which occurred in March 2023. The income level of migrants fell by at least a third. Back in March, migrant workers asked for 1,800 rubles for a 12-hour shift. A month later, the amount increased to 3,500 rubles. Employers’ incomes have not increased, they are not ready to pay guest workers twice as much, and the latter do not want to work for the same salary.

– The second reason for the departure of Central Asian residents is the fear of mobilization. I’m talking not only about migrants who received Russian passports in the last 5-7 years, but also about those who work under a patent. And the third reason is the exacerbation of xenophobia. I won’t go into details. I will only say that in Russia there is such a thing, although citizens of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan do not experience anything similar in other countries,” comments Sergei Suvorov.

Migrants who require a visa to enter and work in Russia mainly come from three countries, the expert continues. In first place is China. True, representatives of the Celestial Empire are not visible in Central Russia; they mainly work in the Far East and Siberia, and, due to mentality, only for Chinese employers.

In second place is Vietnam, which, however, may soon leave the “pedestal”. “In the last five years, it has become difficult to negotiate with representatives of this country. The standard of living in Vietnam has increased, wages have increased. I won’t say that they are on par with the Russians, but from the options “stay in your country” or “go to cold Russia,” the Vietnamese most often choose the first,” explains Sergei Suvorov.

There is an interesting situation with India, which this year for the first time came out on top in terms of population, overtaking China. For almost the entire population of one and a half billion people, the standard of living remains low, and the labor market there is inexhaustible. The average salary in India, except for the relatively prosperous capital, is 15 thousand translated into Russian rubles.

The problem is that representatives of visa countries do not speak Russian well. But this negative point is outweighed by several factors. First of all, there are a large number of people who want to work in Russia: domestic entrepreneurs have plenty to choose from. Plus, there is a strict connection not only to the Russian region, but also to a specific employer, for whom they are legally obligated to work, as is usually stated in the contract, for at least three years. This is a serious difference from citizens of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Armenia or Belarus, who, without a twinge of conscience, can at any time leave the entire team for a neighboring production, where they were promised a salary of a thousand rubles more.

Finally, knowledge of the language is not necessary in the clothing industry and in the food industry – fish, meat processing, and so on. Indians (80%), Sri Lankans, Nepalese and Pakistanis (almost 20%) willingly go to large Russian enterprises in these industries. Their average piecework salary is 80-120 thousand rubles per month. In their own country, these people would earn this amount in six months at best.