MIGRANT WORKERS' PLIGHT

In the near future Kazakhstan plans to legally simplify issuing work permits for migrant labourers. The head of the Interior Ministry's migration policy department, Serik Sainov, told the media that the existing mechanism of attracting foreign labour force creates difficulties for physical entities to employ migrants. As a result, a significant part of migrants work illegally. With an aim to address the problem, the government has prepared a draft law that envisages simplified procedures of issuing work permits for foreign labourers. Sainov said that the law will mean that economic migrants will shift from the shade into the legal sphere, something that will improve efficiency of the government's oversight of the matter and will also expand the taxable base.

According to the American Pew Research Centre, there are about 40,000 ethnic Azerbaijani migrants in Kazakhstan.

In an interview with R+ Zhasymbekova talks about the expected changes after the adoption of the new law that will regulate labour migration in Kazakhstan.

- Will the new law change Kazakhstan's migration policy?

- The situation will certainly be changed. It is planned to introduce a number of changes to Kazakhstan's immigration legislation. These will first of all apply to those migrants who are employed in household work, construction, services and so forth. Migrants from the CIS who work on an unregulated basis will have a possibility to work legally. Many of them enter Kazakhstan as guests without having appropriate work permits. Without signing a labour contract they immediately become unregulated migrants. After the new draft law is signed, CIS migrants who are employed in various spheres, including in construction, will have a right, upon their entry into this country, to find an employer, sign a labour contract and acquire a relevant patent. The patent will be similar to the one used in Russia, that is, securing migrants' right to become employed. They will only have to pay the state a certain amount of money after which they will work legally.

The existing legislation did not envisage the possibility for migrants to acquire patents.

The patent will cost about $15-20 and will be valid throughout the term of the employment contract. Unlike in Russia, in Kazakhstan workers are supposed to first sign a labour agreement and only afterwards can they get their work patent. This means that migrants can immediately become participants in the labour relations and get the status of legal work migrants.

- Does this mean that their relations with employers and the state will be regulated by the new law?

- Indeed. Their rights will be regulated by Kazakhstan's labour code. The point is that changes will be introduced to a number of laws in this country, in particular, the law on migration, the Tax Code and the Administrative Offences Code.

- What will happen if the employer does not pay the promised salary to the migrant or problems emerge with difficult work conditions?

- Labour migrants shall be protected by the work contract which contains provisions about their rights and the employer's responsibilities. Therefore, migrants can always turn to such instances as the Prosecutor's Office, the Labour Inspectorate and so forth. To ensure that their labour rights are not violated it is necessary that workers should carefully examine their contract with the employer.

- Is the adoption of the new law related to the current Russian campaign against illegal migration?

- I do not think these are interrelated. The point is that work on the draft law began two years ago. Our organization provided the authors of the draft law with international expertise on this. We familiarized them with international experience and informed them about various aspects of how the problem is addressed in other countries. The draft law was presented to the Kazakhstan parliament in November 2012. It has gone through the first reading and now consultations are under way. At the moment, parliament is in recess but will resume discussing the document in September.

-  What is the number of illegal migrants in Kazakhstan, including ethnic Azerbaijanis?

- There is no precise statistics of illegal migrants since the group does not yield to precise calculation. Azerbaijani migrants mainly work in the construction sphere in western Kazakhstan. There is the Interior Ministry statistics regarding the overall number of migrants in 2012 - about one million people, 90 per cent of whom are people from CIS countries.

- Have you ever encountered complaints by Azerbaijani labour migrants?

- Azerbaijani migrants have never turned to us or our partners. Azerbaijani migrants mainly work in Kazakhstan's Caspian area, where there is a very strong Azerbaijani diaspora. Work-related conflicts are apparently solved through their involvement. It is ordinary practice when the community helps their compatriots. We are prepared to provide legal help to any migrant who find themselves in a difficult situation. Our legal consultants work across Kazakhstan, including in Aktau.