The proposal of a bill on the possibility of banning the work of foreigners, including Tajiks, in the taxi sector and in schools and hospitals in Russia has been criticized.
Authors from the “Just Russia” party said at the beginning of October this year that with the adoption of the project, more jobs will be created for the population of Russia. The leader of the party, Sergey Mironov, is known for his anti-immigrant proposals. Some of the emigrants and experts believe that the plan, if accepted, will be detrimental to Russia, as the indigenous people do not do hard work with low wages like the emigrants.
“It is not easy to fire doctors”
“They can’t stop it. There are not enough taxis. People can’t go to work on time. Local people like us don’t work from morning to night,” says Hamid, a Tajik immigrant.
He has been driving a taxi in Moscow since 2018. Previously, he worked in the construction sector. He says that, although his income did not increase due to the change of job, “describing is a little lighter than construction”. “They pay more in construction. Even if the income of a taxi is low, it stops every day. In construction, you find one job, you follow it. Once it is finished, then find another job, which takes time,” he said.
Every year, hundreds of thousands of Tajik citizens go abroad, mainly to Russia, to find a decent job. In addition, the authorities of this country have attracted some of the experienced Tajik doctors and teachers to work in that country by giving them privileges such as easy citizenship.
If accepted, what will be the impact of the project on their work in Russia? “If they accept it, it will be very bad. First, it will be difficult to get citizenship. Second, it may be difficult to get a job,” said Khurshed Zarifov, a Tajik doctor in Russia.
Abdullah Davlatov, a doctor and an employee of the Russian Civil Service Academy, believes that “it is not easy to fire doctors.” “We pass an exam once or twice a week. Now in Moscow, for example, if a doctor’s work is complained about, he is taken and examined. It doesn’t matter if he is Russian, Tajik or Uzbek. We pass this exam one after the other.” — he said.
“Kommersant” also noted that the project is against the plans of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Justice of Russia, “because they are interested in accepting more foreigners.” While the authors of the project from the “Just Russia” party believe that “the adoption of the bill will stop the arrival of immigrants and create additional jobs for citizens of the Russian Federation.”
“No one works for this low salary”
The proposed draft has not yet been accepted, but it has caused concern among immigrants who work in the Russian medical, educational and tax sectors. “This proposal of the “Just Russia” party is populist,” said the defender of immigrants’ rights, Muhammadjon Sobirov.
Lawyer Shuhrat Kudratov says, “Citizens of the Russian Federation do not work in these fields, because the wages are very low. Apart from immigrants, no one else works in these fields with such low wages and heavy work regime.”
In the meantime, there are also those who consider the proposal of such projects as pressure on immigrants. Over the past year, the attitude towards immigrants in Russia has changed, and some of them are suspected of being illegally detained, deported, and forced to join the army and participate in Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
At the moment, several plans to limit the work of immigrants have entered the Russian parliament. A week ago, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia proposed in a project to prohibit illegal immigrants from opening a bank account, registering a car and property, and concluding a marriage.
Before that, the representatives of the State Duma or the Russian parliament presented a draft law, which aims to eliminate fake marriages of immigrants with citizens of this country. If this proposal is accepted, the procedure for issuing RVP or temporary residence permit for foreigners who are married to Russian citizens will be stricter.
Source : Радио Озоди