“Round table” with members of EU delegation

Representatives of regional executive office, regional Department of Federal migration service and State Labor Inspection service held a discussion with members of the European Union delegation on labor migration, and particularly on how to fight illegal migration.

The discussion was held on December 3 in Smolensk regional Department of the State employment service as a part of the working visit of EU delegation members Rando Kruusmaa and Julio Vidgade Rivera to Smolensk region. The two members of the EU delegation are experts who evaluate the implementation of joint steps taken to introduce the visa waiver program for short-term visits of Russian citizens to the EU countries and vice versa.

The aim of the visit was a trip to the Republic of Belarus border and a visit to the regional offices of the Federal Migration service, the Department of Internal Affairs and executive offices of labor and employment departments of Smolensk region.

As told by the first deputy Head of Department of the State employment service Vladimir Polonikov, foreign residents are employed in Smolensk region according to a quota that is established annually. In 2012, the quota was 5767 people: 5613 employees coming from visa waiver countries (Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Tajikistan, Armenia, Moldova, Kirghizia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan) and 154 people from countries that require a visa, like Vietnam, China, Poland, Germany, Lithuania, Latvia, Iran, Israel and Great Britain. The estimated quota for 2013 is 6500 people. According to one of the experts, similar employment quota in Estonia, for example, is just 1008 employees this year.

Also, the following information was presented at the meeting: in the 10 months of 2012 1853 people were found to be living in Smolensk region without residence permits and 423 people without a work permit. According to a representative of the Federal migration service in Smolensk region, it’s mostly the fault of the employers who want to avoid paying taxes. 285 employers who hired illegal migrants, were prosecuted.

After discussing the mechanisms of setting the quotas for non-resident employment in Russia and in the European Union, the participants of the “round table” noted that sharing this experience on labor migration, particularly illegal migration, was essential for both parties.

“The issues that were brought up today were just the ones that are going to help gain positive practices from our colleagues’ experience”, – said Head of Department of the State employment service Andrey Shimanov. – “Our delegation will also go to the EU to study their work experience. We’ve made some conclusions that are going to make our work easier in the future".