"This Is A Completely Absurd Story."

Lukashenko is recruiting migrant workers so he can pay them more than Belarusians.

In the Grodno region, about a dozen companies are ready to hire workers from Tajikistan at salaries ranging from $750 to $1,200, providing them with housing and partial meals. It is curious that it was not the Belarusian Ministry of Labor but the Tajik Ministry of Labor that announced this agreement. Could it be that the Belarusian side is remaining silent because the promised salary levels, to put it mildly, do not favor local employees?

Economic observer Andrei Makhovsky took the time to check what salaries are being offered in open job postings by Grodno-based companies mentioned in the Belarusian-Tajik agreement.

“First of all, $1,200 is higher than the average salary in the Grodno region; according to September data, the average there was $940, — the expert noted in a comment to “Filin”. — And even higher than the Belarusian average—$1,050. Only in Minsk do average salaries exceed $1,300. And even then, we understand that “average” is just an average across the hospital and doesn’t really tell us anything.

But I checked the publicly listed job openings, and I can say with certainty: none of the companies listed in the Grodno region offer a salary of $1,200. An international truck driver—that is, a truck driver with all the necessary documents, permits, and the right to work in the European Union—can earn that much or even more.

With all due respect to drivers from Tajikistan, I doubt that Belarus is looking for long-haul truck drivers in that country.

Apart from them, Andrei Makhovsky adds, only managerial staff in the Grodno region earn salaries above $1,000. For example, the deputy director of the “Skidelsky” agricultural complex. Or the head of the transportation department at “Gronitex.” Or a rare, highly qualified specialist, such as a high-pressure foundry worker for “Tsvetlit.”

But the requirements for Tajik applicants say nothing about experience or qualifications—at least not publicly. All that’s required is a medical certificate, knowledge of Russian, and a clean criminal record.

And for such unskilled workers—that is, laborers, warehouse workers, or ordinary mechanics—Grodno-based companies actually pay around $300–500. But not one and a half to two times that amount, as promised to candidates from Tajikistan.

“But promises are one thing. We remember that Uzbek workers in the Vitebsk region were also promised a salary of $1,000,” — adds Andrei Makhovsky, — but in the end, they were only able to secure $750 each, and even that was only after the Uzbek government intervened.

— Still, they promised a lot. Should we expect workers from Tajikistan to come in large numbers?

— The thing is, you can pay a higher salary—significantly higher than what you can afford to pay everyone else—to a couple dozen workers. On a national scale—let’s say a couple hundred.

Two hundred four people from Uzbekistan arrived in the Vitebsk Region, and even then there were difficulties paying them $1,000 each. Although this was a high-profile story, and a scandal erupted because of the discrepancy between what was promised and reality. (Incidentally, it’s interesting that employers from the Belarusian region stated a need for approximately 800 workers, but in reality were able to provide more or less acceptable conditions for a significantly smaller number—F.).

So they can attract a certain number of workers with above-average wages—but not on a massive scale. Not tens of thousands. Simply because they can’t afford to pay that much. And if people start leaving en masse—where would the money come from to pay them?


Then we’ll have to pay them what we can realistically afford: those $300–500. And for that kind of money—what’s the point of leaving Tajikistan, where the average salary is also $400?


After all, the whole point of bringing in migrant workers is that their labor is cheaper than that of locals. That’s a general rule that applies everywhere. But Belarus is bringing in migrant workers to pay them more than it pays locals. Frankly, this is an absolutely absurd situation.

— Could we assume that stories like this will spur qualified Belarusians to think: since we aren’t valued in our home country, maybe we should go elsewhere too?

— I doubt it. How many Tajiks will actually come? 100, maybe 200 people. No one will even notice.

And in general, this whole business of bringing in migrant workers has nothing to do with the real economy. It started as a PR stunt involving Pakistanis, and we can see that it’s still going on to this day.

You can support the website Charter97.org

MULTI-CURRENCY ACCOUNT FOR ASSISTANCE:

Bank's name: Bank Millennium S.A.
Address: ul. Stanislawa Zaryna, 2A, 02-593, Warszawa
IBAN: PL97116022020000000216711123
SWIFT: BIGBPLPW
Name of the account holder: Fundacja “KARTA ‘97”
Purpose/title of payment: Donation for statuary aims

You can contact us by the e-mail charter97@gmail.com