Book Description

"Russia is home to an estimated 4 to 9 million migrant workers, over 40 percent of whom work in the construction industry. Large numbers of Russia's migrant construction workers, who overwhelmingly come from other countries of the former Soviet Union in search of steady work and decent wages, suffer abuses ranging from non-payment of wages, excessively long working hours, physical and psychological abuse, and unsafe working conditions. In the worst cases, migrant workers have been trafficked from their home countries into forced labor in Russia. Employers routinely refuse to provide migrant workers with written employment contracts, as required under Russian law, making workers especially vulnerable to wage violations and other abuses and limiting their ability to access official avenues of redress. Many migrant workers also suffer abuse at the hands of police and other officials. Police regularly target ethnic minorities, including migrant workers, for petty extortion, as well as in some instances physical abuse and harassment. Russia deserves credit for liberalizing some of its migration laws in recent years. However, the authorities have not done enough to ensure protection of migrant workers from abuse, including from private actors. Russia must protect all victims of abuse irrespective of contractual or migration status. The government should ensure rigorous labor inspections, prosecution of abusive employers, and effective regulation of employment agencies and other intermediaries. It should also develop accessible complaint mechanisms for victims and timely and effective investigations into allegations of abuse. In addition, further reform in migration law is necessary to allow workers to more easily regularize their stay, making them less vulnerable to abuse, and more likely to seek protection from state agencies."--Page 4 of cover.