Labor Migration: A View from Kazakhstan

Abstract

Today, Kazakhstan has a comprehensive system for attracting foreign labor force. There is a quota system for skilled foreign labor and labor immigrants and a multi-stage system for issuing work permits. Nevertheless, state management of labor migration has not yet allowed to solve a number of traditional problems in this area inherent in Kazakhstan: the lack of legal protection of Kazakhstani labor migrants and the provision of opportunities for returning labor migrants to use their new qualification potential for the development of the Republic of Kazakhstan; violations of labor laws by migrants and employers, including the employment or hiring of low-skilled foreign citizens without an employment contract and in violation of working conditions and wages; legal and social vulnerability of labor migrants in Kazakhstan; significant damage to the country's economy due to non-payment of income tax by illegal migrants, the amount of a patent for labor activity; unjustified dismissals of labor migrants, physical and psychological violence, restriction of personal freedom; wage discrimination between Kazakhstani and foreign workers; the system of recording the movement of labor migrants and determining the effectiveness of its use is not perfect; illegal labor migration persists. The study substantiates individual proposals for the formation of a comprehensive mechanism for regulating labor migration, as well as measures that can improve the situation and protection of labor migrants.

Received: 4 May 2023 / Accepted: 20 June 2023 / Published: 5 July 2023