More than three hundred employers in the Angara region want to use foreign labor next year

In Irkutsk Region, the quota for hiring foreign workers this year was raised from 29.7 to 32.6 thousand people, the decision is linked to extra requests from gold mining and oil extraction companies. For next year, the quota is already set at 35 thousand people, while employers say they need far more workers, especially in construction. The commission denied some companies requests, citing local labor and legal violations.

The Interdepartmental Commission of the Irkutsk Region on migration issues has increased the quota for attracting foreign workers this year from 29.7 thousand to 32.6 thousand people. The decision was made at a commission meeting on Monday.
As explained by Natalya Bruskovaya, Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Labor, Science and Higher Education of the Irkutsk Region, the increase is related to additional applications from employers in the gold mining and oil extraction industries. In total, employers reported an additional need for 20.6 thousand workers, including 16.4 thousand people from neighboring countries and about 4.1 thousand people from far abroad.
At the meeting it was also reported that as of the beginning of June, 42.9 thousand foreigners had been brought in to work in the Irkutsk Region, or 30.8% fewer than in the same period of 2008. The quota for low-skilled labor has been filled by 90%, and for highly skilled workers by 1.1%.
In addition, the interdepartmental commission decided that the quota for attracting foreign workers next year will amount to 35 thousand people. This includes 25 thousand people from neighboring countries and 10 thousand people from far abroad. According to employers’ applications, 66.5 thousand foreign workers need to be brought to the Irkutsk Region in 2010, including 37.4 thousand foreigners from CIS countries and 29.5 thousand people from far abroad.
It is planned to attract 69% of foreigners to the construction sector, with 62% of them to construction sites in Irkutsk. The Ministry of Economic Development decided to refuse 1/5 of the employers who submitted applications for the attraction of foreign workers. The refusal was motivated by the fact that there is an equivalent local labor force in the Irkutsk Region; moreover, these employers violated migration and sanitary legislation requirements.