Where do Ukrainians who come to Belarus go to work?
The State Border Committee of Belarus daily reports about Ukrainians arriving in Belarus. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, in the first half of 2022 alone, more than 10 thousand citizens arrived to us. Ukraine Office Life try to figure out what place they occupy in the Belarusian labor market.
Spoiler: there are no clear statistics on where the Ukrainians who come to us go to work.
The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection notes that citizens of Ukraine or any other country, if they are legally in Belarus, can get a job in the field of employment, the same assistance and assistance in finding employment as in Belarusians. Separate accounting of employment of foreigners by profession and specialty is not accounted for.
They do not provide clear information and information from the Civil Case Department and require the Ministry of Internal Affairs to issue data on the work of special assignments. For example, in 2014, when the most massive influx of Ukrainian labor resources was recorded, 17,778 special permits were issued to Belarusian employers to attract Ukrainians to work. In 2020, 2249 special permits were received, in 2021 – 1543, and 833 are pending.
But this does not mean that most visits do not work. Judging by the discussions in the help chats for citizens of Ukraine, it is easier for people to first obtain a residence permit or enhanced protection status and on this basis than to look for an employer who is ready to deal with obtaining a special permit. This, by the way, happened as a result of a decision that was circulated. restored Belarusian companies from detaining Ukraine state duty for issuing special permits when hiring citizens. For example, after its adoption in an expedited manner, as BelTA writes,
was considered more than 3 thousand reactions to obtaining a residence permit in Belarus. Also in May Ukrainians
work quietly here by doctors on special terms.
The fact that the statistics on special permits does not give a real picture of the situation of Ukrainians in the Belarusian labor market, the requirements are also in the Committee for Labor, Social Employment and Protection of the Gomel Regional Executive Committee. It was this region that hosted the largest population of Ukraine.
For example, in June of this year, more than 200 Ukrainians worked in the region under special permits (the main employers are Gomselmash, Yuzhny agricultural complex, Zhlobin meat processing plant, etc.). As Alexander Semionov, the first deputy chairman of the committee, stated, it is not worth fixing this figure. Firstly, the situation is constantly changing: people arrived, got a job, and then decided to go further – for example, to Russia – or return home. Secondly, many apply for citizenship, a residence permit, and then a special work permit is not needed.
Almost 30% of Ukrainian positives in Belarus are aged 60+
Some information about labor resources coming to us from Ukraine was obtained from final report The representative office of the Special Organization for Control (IOM) in Belarus, which manages the department with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the UN agency and the Belarusian Red Cross, launched the “Security Accounting Matrix”. Last summer, IOM and Red Cross experts interviewed 1,915 participants who had come to us since last summer.
Here’s what the report says:
- in Belarus at the time of the survey, about 7.2 thousand citizens were conducted and in Ukraine 1.1 thousand citizens of third countries. This figure is based on the answers of the respondents;
- most often people come to Belarus from Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkov, Kyiv and Chernihiv regions;
- those who remained in Belarus mostly settled in Gomel and the Gomel region. There are a little more than 5.1 thousand of them. more than half of the respondents found with their Belarusian relatives;
- out of 1821 respondents, women predominate (75%) on average 48 years old. Ukrainian refugees aged 60+ make up almost 30%. The oldest person interviewed was 96 years old. Many people with disabilities and serious illnesses;
- the majority (70%) of the Ukrainians surveyed plan to stay in Belarus for the time being – they have relatives and friends here. Every third time I wanted to return to my homeland when it was possible and safe;
- many migrants received higher (30%), secondary specialized education (46%), and also received vocational training (9%). Prior to leaving, more than half (52%) require highly skilled, artisan or technical professions such as lawyers, doctors, engineers, factory workers and metallurgists;
- half of the respondents stated that they speak at least two languages (from foreign ones they name English, Belarusian, German and Polish);
- many work in Belarus in highly qualified positions (lawyers, doctors, nurses, teachers, accountants) and in the service sector (cooks, hairdressers, limited security services).