Author: Tatyana Gracheva
Deputy Economy Minister: “positive” labour market trends expected to continue, 2024 year of “new record indicators”
Georgian Deputy Economy Minister Vakhtang Tsintsadze on Monday said “positive trends” in the domestic labour market were expected to continue in the coming quarters and make 2024 a year of “new record indicators”. Photo: Ministry of Economy Georgian Deputy Economy Minister Vakhtang Tsintsadze on Monday said “positive trends” in the domestic labour market were expected […]
Read moreScrutiny of labor migrants from Tajikistan is intensified by Kazakhstan
According to Eurasianet, Kazakhstan scrutiny of labor migrants from neighboring Central Asian nations, Tajiks in particular, has been intensified after the late-March Krasnogorsk terrorist tragedy.
As Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service reported on May 7, a security sweep has been carried out across the country by Kazakh police.
A Tajik citizen who has been working in Kazakhstan for six years said that the situation for natives of Tajikistan has worsened: the police carry out raids are deport many people, even those with a temporary residence permit.
A data from a security operation carried out in the central region of Ulytau, during which 16 Tajik and Uzbek nationals were taken into custody for not having required work authorization was revealed by Kazakh police earlier in May.
Eurasianet reports that security inspections in shopping malls, markets and other venues where large crowds congregate have been conducted to ensure they have plans to contend with possible terror attacks. They had inspected 1,800 establishments for security procedures by the end of April and filed 180 administrative cases for regulatory violations.
Substantial numbers of guest workers from neighboring states, especially Uzbekistan, has traditionally been attracted by Kazakhstan, one of Central Asia’s most prosperous countries. International Organization for Migration (IOM) statistics report that almost 725,000 foreign nationals migrated to Kazakhstan between 2020-2023, mainly for work purposes. The majority of migrants during the four-year period was comprised by Uzbeks. The next two largest national groups of migrants were comprised by Russians and Tajiks.
A 2023 academic study, titled Perspectives on Labor Migration: Insights from Kazakhstan, reports that regulatory pace with the influx of guest workers has been kept up by the authorities.
According to the study, pressing challenges are being experienced by Kazakhstan’s labor migration management: a disparity between attracting labor migrants and effectively regulating their flow, a lack of tools to assess regional demand for skilled foreign workers, and inadequate systems to monitor migrant movement and placement.
Other gaps in the country’s labor migration framework, including violations of labor laws by migrants and employers, the employment or hiring of low-skilled foreign citizens without an employment contract, were highlighted by a separate 2023 academic study, Labor Migration: A view from Kazakhstan. The fact that that some guest workers endured “restriction of personal freedom” and “wage discrimination was also noted by the study.
Tajik citizens going to Kazakhstan got a caution to be prepared for heightened security measures from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan on May 7.
Source Link
Read moreUnemployment growing in Ukraine – National Bank
The number of unemployed Ukrainians grew 7.9% to 118,500 in March, mostly due to the increase in the number of unemployed women for the fourth consecutive month, including by 7,600 to 91.900 last month. Unemployment has also grown among persons younger than 35. It grew by 2,300 to 27,100, Ukrainian media said, citing information from […]
Read moreGermany doubles work visas for Balkan citizens: Opportunities and salaries soar
Germany’s decision to double the number of work visas for citizens of Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Albania, starting June 1, will significantly ease their stay in the country. These citizens will enjoy a privileged position in the German labor market, which is facing a shortage of workers across various skill levels, […]
Read moreKazakhstan intensifies scrutiny of labor migrants from Tajikistan
More than 10,000 of Tajik citizens were working in Kazakhstan in July 2022; illustrative photo / Eurasianet / gov.kz. Eurasianet reports that Kazakhstan is intensifying scrutiny of labor migrants from neighboring Central Asian nations, Tajiks in particular, in the aftermath of the late-March Krasnogorsk terrorist tragedy. Tajik guest workers are reportedly complaining that they are […]
Read moreINDICATORS OF THE LABOUR FORCE
In 2023 the unemployment rate in Georgia decreased by 0.9 percentage points compared to 2022 and amounted to 16.4 percent. In 2023 labour force participation rate (share of the labour force in the total population aged 15 and older) increased by 1.4 percentage points compared to the previous year and became 53.3 percent, while the […]
Read moreIMF includes Georgia in the list of 10 countries with highest unemployment decrease over 12 years
The World Economic Review of the International Monetary Fund has ranked Georgia ninth among the top 10 countries in the world with the highest percentage decrease in unemployment over the last 12 years.
The decrease of unemployment in Georgia is estimated by the IMF by 11 percentage points and equals to 15.7 percent by 2024, compared to the levels in 2012.
The IMF reports that the unemployment rate in the country was the highest in 2010, 2011 and 2012 at the level of about 27 percent.
As the IMF said, Georgia reached the highest percentage point of unemployment increase in the world in the period up to 2012. Unemployment increased in that 12-year period by more than16 percentage points.
Source Link
Read moreEmployers get more benefit from minimum wage than employees
Not only workers and their rights but also bind employers are protected by laws in Serbia. Nevertheless, protective work gear and properly secured workplaces are not available for many of these workers today. 42 workers died at work last year. This year six workers died and four people got serious injuries with a fatal outcome from January to March.
Ljubisav Orbović, president of the Association of Independent Trade Unions of Serbia, finds these figures unacceptable. He also adds that the unions asked the state to increase relevant inspection supervision.
Orbović points out that the authorities complained about the lack of inspectors to carry out such frequent inspections. The most problematic sector is the construction.
According to him, redundancies are not that frequent in Serbia due to the workforce deficit.
Serbia has nothing against foreign employers coming to the country because Serbian workers also go abroad as they pay higher wages. But the fact that foreign companies come and lower the price of the work is not acceptable. Such workers find themselves into the background in the labour market and often work without documents, unfortunately.
Concerning negotiating the adjustment of the minimum wage twice a year, Orbović says that there will certainly be negotiations this year as well, but that “they are not a decisive factor for determining the minimum labour price”.
He also adds that adjusting the minimum wage twice a year is a matter of inflation. Adjusting the minimum wage once a year is sufficient, in case if the inflation is within normal limits.
According to Orbović, employers get the opportunity to plan their businesses with the view of having cheap labour at their disposal due to the minimum wage. He adds that the minimum wage corresponds to the minimum consumer basket in Europe, but here that is not the case.
Source Link
Read moreHow Ukrainian farmers are using the cover of war to escape taxes
“Black grain” infuriates exporters playing by the rules On the lookout for “ordnance”photograph: getty images Since russia began its invasion in 2022, Ukraine’s economy has shrunk by a quarter. But the ravages of war are not the only reason for the government’s reduced tax take. Businesses are also making use of the chaos to dodge […]
Read moreMinimum wage serves more employers than employees
Laws in Serbia protect workers and their rights but also bind employers. However, many of these workers today do not have protective work gear, nor are their workplaces properly secured. Last year, 42 workers died at work. From January to March this year, there were six deaths, along with four serious injuries, with a fatal […]
Read more