Largest part of Moldovan migrants leaving for Russia assume the risk of being trafficked, study says

Most of the Moldovan migrants that go to Russia assume the risk of being trafficked, says the study “Migration of Labour Force from Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus to Russia” conducted by the International Centres for Women Rights Protection and Promotion “La Strada” working in these countries. Some 60% of the questioned migrants, who have been victims of labour exploitation, knew that they will be employed illegally. About 70% of the victims and 54% of those that migrated successfully said that the possession of work permit is not of major importance to them. At the same time, 95% of the migrant victims did not know about the new labour legislation in Russia, while 75% of these knew nothing about their future workplace before departure. More than a half of the victims did not have pocket money at least for the initial period of staying in Russia. The employers consider that the most often violations are the unlimited working day, the non-compensation for additional working hours and the non-payment of social allowances for illness. The migrants also mention the delay in paying salaries, the poor working and living conditions, the psychological pressure. The victims are subjected to such methods of constraint as the limitation of the freedom of circulation and of the communication with relatives, physical and psychological violence, the non-payment of the promised salary or inequitable financial sanctions. The Russian employers say that among the reasons for which they employ migrant workers are the lower expenses of paying the work, the difficult working conditions in which the native people do not want to work, the higher productivity of the migrants – they work more, are concentrated on the work, do not consume strong alcoholic drinks and others. The separation of families, the exodus of labour force, the loss of social guarantees by migrants, in particular the pension’s size, the rise in the number of vagrant children, the spread of socially dangerous diseases (HIV/AIDS, STD), the loss of the national genetic fund are among the consequences of migration pointed to by the respondents from the three states. Among the positive aspects, they mentioned the improvement of the financial condition of migrants’ families, the currency inflows into the country, the establishment of social relations, the enhancement of migrants’ qualifications. The study “Migration of Labour Force from Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus to Russia” was carried out as part of the Programme Against Human Trafficking in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe under the auspices of the Foreign Ministry of Denmark. According to a study of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), Russia, Italy, Ukraine and Portugal are the key countries of destination that the Moldovan migrants choose as suitable for work.