Economic science/5. Human resource management

Student Natalia V. Ionikan, Dr. Vera S. Rakovskaya

National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University

Problems of migration policy in Russia

The research was completed under financial support of Russian State Humanitarian Fund within the research project (Influence of External Migration on the Sociolabor Relation System), project No. 11-32-00305a2.

Providing an effective migration policy in the modern economy directly contributes to economic recovery and this is a priority way to solve the demographic problem as a solution to the stabilization of the Russian population is a pressing and urgent task.

Labor migration – the process of economic closely interrelated with other economic processes. The experience of many countries shows that the availability of cheap migrant labor – legal or illegal – leads to situation, when the employer is more inclined to seek cheap labor of foreign workers, as temporary migrants more loyal and less inclined to defend their rights. As a result of technological progress and hampered the introduction of mechanization, and also the scope of national workers.

Russian migration legislation has the potential to attract high skilled workers from other countries. But in most cases migrants don’t know where exactly they will work, coming to Russia. Foreign workers often can’t work in their specialty. And this situation shows appreciable waste of human capital.

Underestimating the importance of labor migration in the overall migration flow, which swept Russia, has led in recent years to an unacceptable escalation in illegal migration and illegal employment, to loss of state control over immigration situation and the labor market and to the growth on anti-migrant attitudes in society, violation of rights of migrants.

In 2006, the Federal Migration Department of Russia affected by changes in immigration laws in respect of residence and employment of CIS citizens in Russia, who are eligible for visa-free entry. The purpose of these changes was the creation of conditions for Russian labor market with legal foreign workforce and expansion of licit employment of foreign workers as an alternative to illegal migration.

As a part of these innovations labor migrants from CIS countries have better access to the labor market: an opportunity to draw up a work permit, right to change employers within the region in which permission was granted, largely removed excessive administrative barriers, which was one of sources of unfair mediation and bribery. When the new laws came into force in 2007, Russia’s migration departments has issued more than 2 million work permits to foreign nationals. This is twice more than in 2006 and three times more than in 2005. Also the share of migrant from the CIS countries increased in the total number of registered migrant workers [1].

Despite the presence of migration policies and permanent efforts to improve and simplify the process of legal registration and entry, when the opportunity to legalize their stay in the country and entry into the legal field of labor relations have become a reality, the majority of illegal immigrants continue to ignore it. This is facilitated by a number of reasons and problems, which hinder the improving migration policy.

Firstly, many employers avoid official hiring foreign workers and to conclude an employment contract with them that favors the development of key employment characteristics of migrants at this time. Such characteristics include informal labor, dumping salaries, longer working hours, excessive work intensity, poor working conditions, lack of social guarantees. Most illegal migrants are temporary employment in the private sector. Shadow employment arrangements provide employers, bypassing the existing laws, the ability to pay "black" wages, minimizing the payment of taxes [2].

Secondly, the income tax system in Russia is rather unfavorable for migrant workers: the first 6 months, they have to pay tax at the rate of personal income tax for individuals is 30% and only after 6 months of the tax rate drops to 13%, as well as for individuals living in Russia. For migrant workers engaged in seasonal or short-term work, this is a major obstacle.

Thirdly, even if the simplified conditions of entry to immigrants from CIS countries, coming to Russia in search of employment, they point a different purpose in migration cards at the border crossing. This is justified by the fact that legal clearance is a significant problem for them. Lawfully worker may be in Russia looking for a work during 90 days, then as an existing order, he must return to their homeland, and the employer must send a copy of employment contract and job offer. Only when he has these documents he can come to Russia, stating in the migration card that the purpose of his visit is employment, and then get a work permit.

Also prevent the legalization of migrants is the presence of shady middlemen who "intercept" foreign workers, who do not have time to read and take advantage of their existing rights under the law.

In Russia, a problem of social protection of migrant workers is very acute, and at the moment, it almost does not dare. Even with regard to internally displaced persons, the most vulnerable social groups of migrants, the necessary measures are not applied. The share of displaced persons who received social support in the total number in need of such support for immigrants is less than 1.8% over the past 3 years [3].

Table 1 – The share of displaced persons who received social support in the number of persons in need of such support (%)

2008	2009	2010	Planning period
			2011	2012	2013
1.64	3months – 0 6months – 0 9months – 0 year – 0	3months – 0 6months – 0 9months–1.8 year – 1.8	1.8	1.9	1.9

Speaking of legally employed migrants, a number of problems can be identified. Migrants living in a foreign country, often suffer from abuse by the local population. Migrant workers don’t receive protection not only from their employers, but they are also vulnerable to abuse workers and administrative structures and enforcement agencies. One major problem is corruption, which permeates all the relations within the framework of migration.

At present Russian legislation approved the affirmative tool to attract labor, operation of which should contribute to regulation of migration flows. Recorded two types of quotas: quota for accommodation and quota for the invitation of foreign citizens in order to work. According to estimates of the Duma Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Building in Russia annually attracts about three million migrant workers. In the 2010 quota throughout the country for migrant workers was 1.3 million. So the question of whether affirmative action hiring foreign labor force is sharp enough in the modern economy. Removal of quotas in the form, in which they now exist, will contribute to the conclusion of migrants out of the shadows; reduce corruption, and their competition with local workers [4].

In 2010, further changes were made in Russian migration laws, which postulate the differentiation of the migratory flow. These innovations should be responsible for the organized recruitment of foreign workers in the countries from which they come, to attract seasonal workers and developing special programs for foreign students. The main advantage of this set will be the possibility of attracting foreign workers with the necessary education and skills that will simplify the process of hiring by the employer, and also the future labor migrants will know where, how and under what conditions he will work.

Modernization of control system of labor migration should take place by creating an infrastructure of labor migration – the creation of employment exchanges for migrants, migration "bridges", the conclusion of direct contracts between Russia and the countries from which migrants come. These tools will help workers and employers find each other in a shortest time and lowest cost.

Simplifying the procedure sufficiently migration registration and obtaining a work permit, the Russian migration legislation has provided the economy the necessary quantity of labor, fill the internal gap, not thinking about the quality of the workforce.

Labour migration will become an important resource of economic development only if the liberalization of Russia's migration legislation will also be accompanied by the development of effective tools that will provide inflow to Russia is not just labor, but skilled foreign staff, which needs the Russian economy now. After all, quality and qualifications of human resources is crucial. In today's world the high-quality human capital is an especially significant factor in competitiveness and economic development based on knowledge and innovation. Allocation in 2010 of highly qualified specialists in a particular category of migrants and providing them certain preferences in hiring in Russia was the first significant step towards achieving a lasting position on the world market of highly skilled labor force.

In order for the changes and the steps, which were taken, really become the support and the basis for creating a new model of Russia's migration policy, they should be interconnected and to pursue the same goal state, consistently occur in practice and be understandable to the general population.

Currently, international migration is a necessary process to mitigate the demographic crisis, as well as labor migration, which can solve the existing problem of shortage in the Russian market – is one of the main factors for the development of modern Russia. Consequently, migration policy should be an integral structural segment of the state development strategy, ensuring Russia's attractiveness for foreign personnel.

In reality, it can be said that sustainable and effective mechanism of Russia's migration policy is not rather realized, but only beginning to emerge, as well as a system of incentives to attract highly qualified personnel, and their rational distribution. The main reason is the lack of common approaches to understanding the nature, potential, and mechanisms of migration policy, as well as the lack of consistency between federal and regional migration policies.

Literature:

1. Ivahnyuk I.V. Russian migration policy: towards a common labor market the former Soviet Union/ / Management Consulting. – 2008. – № 2. – P. 88-103.

2. Vedeneeva V.T. Migrants in the Russian market / / Russia and the modern world. – 2009. – № 3. – P. 45-61.

3. Kozyreva L.D. Private-public partnership in the field of migration policy / / Management Consulting. – 2010. – № 1. – P. 136-144.

4. Streltsova J. R. Integration of immigrants into the economic crisis (European and Russian experience) / / World Economy and International Relations. – 2011. – № 1. – P.55-68.