MIGRANT CONSTRUCTION WORKERS FACE SERIOUS ABUSES
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[03:20 pm] 10 February, 2009
Russia: Migrant Construction Workers Face Serious Abuses End Employer
Exploitation, Forced Labor, Climate of Violence
Migrant construction workers in Russia face widespread abuse both
in and outside of the workplace, Human Rights Watch said in a report
released today. In a climate of rising hate-motivated violence against
migrants, exacerbated by the global financial crisis, the Russian
government is failing to protect these workers from abusive employers,
employment agencies, and police.
The 130-page report, "’Are you Happy to Cheat Us?’ Exploitation
of Migrant Construction Workers in Russia," documents widespread
withholding of wages, failure to provide required contracts, and unsafe
working conditions by employers at construction sites across Russia. It
also details cases in which workers were unwittingly trafficked into
forced labor by employment agencies that promised construction jobs
in Russia, but then delivered workers to employers who confiscated
their passports and forced them to work without wages. In some cases,
these workers were confined and beaten.
"Migrant construction workers come to Russia for decent jobs
and instead find violence and exploitation," said Jane Buchanan,
researcher in the Europe and Central Asia division of Human Rights
Watch and author of the report. "Russia should undertake rigorous
reforms to protect migrant construction workers from these serious
human rights abuses."
Human Rights Watch interviewed more than 140 migrant construction
workers who have worked in 49 Russian cities and towns from 2006
to 2008.
More than 40 percent of Russia’s 4 million to 9 million migrant workers
are employed in construction, which prior to the global economic
crisis had been one of the major engines of Russia’s growth. Most
migrant workers come from other countries of the former Soviet Union,
looking to escape poverty and unemployment. Citizens of most of those
countries can enter Russia without a visa.
The report documents exploitation and abuse at a time of Russia’s
phenomenal economic growth. With the Russian economy suffering the
impacts of the global financial crisis, migrant workers face an
increased risk of exploitation and violence, Human Rights Watch said.
"Without urgent action by the Russian government, migrant construction
workers will be doubly vulnerable to abuse, both by employers and
by others looking to scapegoat migrants for the country’s economic
problems," Buchanan said.
Human Rights Watch said that almost none of the workers interviewed
had been given contracts, as required by Russian law. The lack of
a contract makes workers vulnerable to wage and other abuses and
limits their opportunities to seek assistance from official bodies
in cases of abuse. Employers routinely withhold wages from workers,
make unexpected and illegal deductions in wages, or refuse to pay
wages altogether. Workers who refuse to work in protest over unpaid
wages may face violence and threats by their employers.
"This kind of exploitation is so pervasive that workers often labor
for months, waiting and hoping to be paid," said Buchanan. "They
recognize that their chances for decent, reliable pay won’t be much
better with another employer."
Police regularly target ethnic minorities, including migrant
workers, for petty extortion during spot document inspections on
the street. Migrant workers told Human Rights Watch that sometimes,
during these inspections, police also beat or humiliated them. In
some egregious cases, police required migrant workers to perform
forced labor at police stations or other locations.
"Sadly, violence seems to be a fact of life for many migrant workers in
Russia," said Buchanan. "Whether it’s employers trying to intimidate
their workers, police roughing them up during a shake-down, or
hate-motivated attacks by regular citizens, Russia’s migrant workers
are vulnerable at almost every turn."
Russia has revised its migration laws in recent years to make it
easier for workers who can enter Russia without a visa to legalize
their stay and employment. The steps, while positive, do not go far
enough to protect migrant workers from abuse.
"Russia has an obligation under international law to protect all
victims of abuse, irrespective of the victim’s migration status or
contractual status," said Buchanan. "It’s time for the government to
stop acting as if migrant workers don’t have rights and take decisive
action against abusive employers and employment agencies."
Human Rights Watch called on the government to ensure rigorous labor
inspections, prosecution of abusive employers, and effective regulation
of employment agencies. 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.
Human Rights Watch also called on the home countries of migrant
workers in Russia to provide more help when their citizens face abuse
in Russia, to cooperate with Russian authorities on investigations
and prosecutions of abusive employers in Russia, and to establish
clear and rigorous regulations for employment agencies that recruit
in their countries.