Central Asian workers who migrate for good paying jobs are navigating a rapidly changing environment due to shifts in economic options and political instability. At the same time, a growing number of women and young migrant workers, who face particular vulnerabilities, are increasingly seeking to migrate. Safeguarding worker rights amid changing migration flows is a challenge best addressed when stakeholders from the region join together to develop and coordinate safe migration strategies, according to panelists at a Solidarity Center webinar this week.
Migrant workers in Central Asia seek good jobs to support themselves and their families. Credit: Solidarity Center
“We really feel the need of cooperation with destination countries to find more systematic ways of organizing these workers,” said Edwin Atema, leader of the Road Transport Due Diligence Foundation. “Because, on a daily basis, our staff is saving the lives of workers.” Atema was among eight participants and Solidarity Center partners in the webinar, moderated by Solidarity Center Executive Director Shawna Bader-Blau and including Kelly Faye Rodriguez, U.S. Department of State special representative for international labor affairs.
“Regional government dialogue is a key and it’s very important since now not only Kazakhstan, but Kyrgyzstan also become the only country of origin, but also country of destination,” said Evgeniya Li, Solidarity Center program coordinator. “The main steps that should be taken in the future are facilitating cooperation, addressing labor market needs, and improving migrants’ rights.”
Workers Migrate for Decent Jobs
Based on a research sample of 1,031 migrant workers from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, research by the Solidarity Center found that Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan are primarily origin countries, with Kazakhstan becoming an increasingly popular destination country. Overall, 58 percent of those interviewed say they migrated because of low wages in home countries, and 31 percent because of the lack of jobs and unemployment.
While Russia long was a destination country for migrant workers from Central Asia, the number of workers migrating there has decreased following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the country’s decreased economic opportunities. The survey found migrant workers are now choosing Kazakhstan (28 percent), Türkiye (27 percent), Germany (21 percent) and South Korea (16 percent).
As in many countries, Central Asian migrant workers are found in a variety of jobs, including construction, agriculture, trade, transportation, public catering and much more.
Low Pay, Poor Conditions and Growing Numbers of Women, Young People
“Overtime was not paid; we were paid just the regular salary. If I got sick, it was my problem; the employer didn’t cover it. You had to pay for treatment yourself,” said one worker from Uzbekistan who was surveyed in the report. The 30-year-old cook had spent seven years as a migrant worker and describes a common experience, in which migrant workers receive no overtime payment or sick leave and often endure discrimination and gender-based harassment and violence, said Lola Abdukadyrova, Solidarity Center regional director in Kyrgyzstan.
“Twenty-nine percent of respondents’ households are on the verge of poverty, they do not always have enough money for food,” she said of Kyrgyzstan. For migrants from Uzbekistan, “45 percent of respondents’ households are on the verge of poverty,” said Nodira Karimova, director of the Republican Social Information Center Istiqbolli Avlod.
“They have enough money only for food. Salary is not paid regularly,” said Abdukadyrova. “The workload increases without a salary increase. And they’re working irregular hours. Employers do not provide a safe workplace.”
Gulnara Derbisheva, director of Insan-Leilek, an NGO advocating for migrant worker rights, discussed how women are especially at risk, facing gender-based violence and harassment, an increase that Li said necessitates “targeted policies and programs to support women’s formal employment and provide access to legal aid.”
Panelists saw a video describing efforts by the Solidarity Center in Kyrgyzstan to support pre-migration training and labor rights training,
In a video describing efforts by the Solidarity Center in Kyrgyzstan to support pre-migration training and labor rights training, some 10,000 applicants sought visas for South Korea and the United Kingdom. Showing the video to participants, “you can see the portrait of the Kyrgyz labor migrant right now that is still very young,” said Abdukadyrova. When workers line up to apply for migration, “registration closes in five minutes. Increasingly, young people are looking for jobs outside the country.”
“Ensuring migrant workers are protected by contracts and knowing they have labor rights is essential,” says Derbisheva, “especially as workers in informal economy jobs such as domestic work and taxi driving increase.” The survey shows most migrants from Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan (76 percent) do not have labor contracts, “making them even more vulnerable to labor rights violations,” said Abdukadyrova.
“The share of informal migrants is very high. There is a low level of awareness for labor rights and few have contracts,” said Derbisheva, whose organization campaigns to aid workers in forced labor and provide free legal assistance, such as recovering fees and unpaid salaries. “They are major stakeholders and we have to involve them.”
Going Forward
Credit: Solidarity Center
The first recommendation to address migration should involve “strengthening work prior to leaving their countries,” says Derbisheva. When workers choose to migrate, panelists emphasized the need for a fair recruitment process and departure training for both migrant workers and potential migrant workers that underlines core labor rights and government engagement with countries to establish mutual agreements.
“Kazakhstan has endorsed the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM), and participates in various regional migration dialogues,” said Aleksandr Mukha, director of the Mangistau Regional Branch of the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law. In another significant win for migrant worker rights organizations, Kyrgyzstan in August also issued the GCM with the goal of improving conditions for Kyrgyz citizens who travel abroad to earn their livelihoods.
The compact is the result of work by the Solidarity Center with its partners in Central Asia with the Migrant Workers Union, a network of nongovernmental organizations focused on migration, and relevant Kyrgyzstan state bodies.
“Migration long has been a critical issue for the Solidarity Center,” said Shawna Bader-Blau, panel moderator.
“In Central Asia, the Solidarity Center has been active since independence in helping to build democratic, worker-led organizations and to help ensure respect for fundamental worker rights. We operate programs in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan from our field office located in Kyrgyzstan’s capital, Bishkek,” she said. “Our long-time focus on migration in the region brought about real successes including the organization of a Migrant Workers Union that brings together more than 10,000 migrant workers from Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan for mutual protection of their rights.”
“We recognize that workers are all deserving of full respect of international labor standards without exception, including the freedom to form unions and collectively bargain regardless of immigration status, nationality, race, gender or sector of the economy,” she said.
“With Solidarity Center’s already deep contacts, all of our partners mentioned that in Central Asia we need to have this wide informational campaign, provide legal assistance, develop policies targeted to women migrants, mandatory pre-migration trainings, encourage migrant organization development and promote union membership and collective organization among migrant workers,” said Li
Presentations from the webinar, “Exploring Migration Trends in Central Asia: A Comprehensive Analysis of Changing Migration Flows and New Labor Markets in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan,” along with an executive summary and infographic of the research conducted, are available on the Solidarity Center website. The full reports—one for Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan—will be available on the Solidarity Center website next month.