Elena
Tiuriukanova
New Opportunities and New Risks in Women's
Migration:
View from Russia
base on sample surveys results
1. Labour Migration
from Russia: Official and Unofficial Channels
Russia began to integrate into
international labour migration in the late 80-s. Since that time, for only 10
years, Russia has changed from the strictly isolated society with minimal
external migration to one of the world centers of migration exchange. The
country accumulates various types of øin- and out-migration
flows - ethnic migration, refugees, labour migration.
Temporary labour migration is one of
the most intensively developing migration flow. The tables bellow compares
temporary labour migration with traditional ethnic emigration for the permanent
residence.
Tendencies in emigration and labour outmigration from Russia:
comparative view
|
|
E m i g r a t i o n
|
Labour outmigration
|
|
|
official data
(thousand)*
|
real scale***
|
official data
(thousand)**
|
real scale***
|
|
1986
|
2.9
|
|
|
|
|
1987
|
9.7
|
slightly
|
no
|
much
|
|
1988
|
20.7
|
more
|
|
more
|
|
1989
|
47.5
|
than
|
re-
|
(10+
|
|
1990
|
103.6
|
official
|
gis-
|
times as
|
|
1991
|
88.3
|
data
|
tra-
|
much)
|
|
1992
|
102.9
|
|
tion
|
than
|
|
1993
|
113.8
|
|
|
official
|
|
1994
|
91.4
|
|
8.1
|
data
|
|
1995
|
100.0
|
|
11.2
|
|
|
1996
|
100.2
|
|
12.3
|
|
|
1997
|
83.5
|
|
24.
|
|
1998
|
80.4
|
32.5
|
|
1999
|
85.2
|
32,7
|
|
2000
|
|
45,8
|
|
Expected
tendency ***
|
Stabilisation /
slight decline
|
Rapid increase
|
*
Registered by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of RF
**Only
temporary labour migrants registered by Federal Migration Service (those who
left Russia for work abroad under intergovernmental agreements and through
licensed firms-intermediaries
***Estimation
The official data on
labour outmigration is quite low but it is increasing quite fast. At the same
time estimate of unofficial migration
(that is beyond official registration) is from 10s (for men) to hundred (for
women) times as much compared to the official data. Official number of female
labour migrants was only 5,716 in 2000, that makes up 12,5 per cent of the
total, but estimates show that women form the considerable part of real labour outflow from Russia.
To clear up the situation we should
take a short look at the system of institutions which operate in the field of
labour out-migration from Russia.
Very few official bodies and official
activities exist in the field. In 1994 the Federal Migration Service (FMS)
established the system of institutions which provide employment abroad for
Russian citizens and began to collect data on labour migration. The data can
not represent real picture because only two categories of migrants are included
into official registration - those who migrate within the framework of
intergovernmental agreements on labour exchange and those who look for a job
through the network of firms which work under the license of FMS and specialize
at providing employment abroad.
As for the intergovernmental channel
(Russia has the agreements with Germany, Poland, Finland, Switzerland, China,
Czech and Slovak Republics), the limited number of such agreements can not
provide the real and mass enough job possibilities for people who wish and
would be able to migrate temporarily. Besides, these agreements do not work
sufficiently in Russia because of the different reasons.
The possibility to find a job abroad
through the private or state firms working as intermediaries and providing
employment abroad are some wider nowadays. But the network of these
organizations is not broad enough for such a country as Russia, and also a
range of professions which regularly appear in the list of vacancies is much
narrower than the labour supply. There are about 500 mainly small firms which
got the license of FMS by now. Of this number about 200 are located in Moscow
and the rest - in the largest port cities and other big Russian cities. As a
total at least 25 per cent of firms are dealing with the employment of sailors.
The professional composition that appears in the official statistic of FMS is
quite “strange”: more then 60 per cent
of those who got a job through these firms were sailors or workers in the same
industry. The reason is the historically established situation when sailors use
to be covered by official activity in the field of labour migration more fully
than, for instance, house workers or other “services’ providers”.
Institutional Structures
in the Field of Labour Migration in Russia
Migration Law
1993/1996
Ministry of Federal Affairs, Nationalities and Migration
OFFICIAL ACTIVITY IN THE
FIELD
Intergovernmental agreements Licensing of state
and private firms
on labour exchange
providing employment abroad
Germany, Poland, Finland 45,716
people About 700
Switzerland, China,
etc. got work
abroad in 2000 companies
Unofficial (out of
institutions) activity in the field
Individual (independent) job engagements
(business contracts, research grants, etc.)
Illegal activity in the
field
Marriage “bureau” Labour “agencies” Prostitutes’ recruiters
Traffickers of
migrants
Criminal networks
The lack of official activity in the
field of labour migration cause a huge wave of unofficial, illegal and criminal
activity in the field. These are trafficking in migrants, illegal employment,
and many other forms of illegality more
and more shaping migration process into illegal framework.
Generally we can conclude that the
specific spheres of female migration are much less covered by official activity
(and consequently by official statistics) than other types of workers. As a
result migrant women concentrate mostly
in the area of unofficial and illegal activity. According to our
estimation, 1-2 % of migrant women come through official institutions and
correspondingly are included in official statistics.
The employment through private firms
is connected with the considerable risks for potential migrants, especially for
women, due to the lack of legal norms and security mechanisms, uncertain status
of many of these organizations which can not provide the satisfactory level of
social guarantees for migrants. This sphere attracts a great number of
swindlers of every kind and remains one of the most profitable source of easy
money for criminals.
Bellow two schemes of migration are
presented: migration through official licensed firms and through unofficial
illegal channels.
The scheme of migration through official channels
Having
received the information on the firm offering a desirable work abroad (it is possible to make from the
announcements in the newspapers, in FMS, local migration services), woman comes
there. She signs an agreement with firm on providing mediator services. Then
the firm finds a employer for her. Having spoken over all conditions of the
contract and found acceptable variant (country, kind of work, working
condition, etc.), the firm through the counteragent concludes the contract with
the employer, provide woman with the visa, ticket and all necessary documents
(more often for her own money, but the credit is sometimes also possible). In
the country of reception she is met by the counteragent of the firm and taken
to a place of work. But easiness and legality of all these procedures – is only
an illusion. Because of the difficulties with reception of "working"
visas, the firms should introduce their clients in the embassies as tourists or visitors of their fictive
relatives. Thus, labour migrants are granted tourist or guest visas not giving
rights to work in the host country. Having arrived there and started working,
they practically pass to an illegal conditions. Not always counteragents of the
firm try to keep a situation under control and to not allow
"troubles" with police and migration services. And such troubles
sometimes occur.
The scheme of migration through illegal channels
The
special agents in Russia recruit/hire women, as a rule, by small groups. They
promise them work as dancers, waitresses, chambers, cleaners, nurses, etc.
Sometimes women know beforehand, that will work in sex - industry. Then
traffickers buy for them visa (tourist, certainly), ticket and all documents,
necessary for departure, more often they pay for "victims". Thus they
put their clients in the conditions of debt bondage, because she must give them
money back from her incomes received abroad. That enables traffickers to keep
the woman in subordinate situation by various methods, including threats,
coercion, physical and sexual violence. Further, after the arrival to the
destination, their counteragent takes women' passport away (for registration or
under any other "reason"). Having appeared in the another country,
without the documents, in illegal situation, frequently not having an
opportunity to leave the brothel even for shopping, woman turn out completely
in hands of traffickers. Under the threats and violence, very few victims of
similar circumstances apply for help to local police office or any other
organization.
If we compare these two schemes of
employment abroad, we shall find out, that they both have no complete
legitimate basis, associated with risk and frequent violation of human right.
Of course, in case of use of illegal channels the risk is much higher, the
human rights violations get more extreme forms.
2. Migration and sex-employment: sphere of risks
In 2000 the special sample survey
was conducted to clarify the attitude of potential female migrants to various
sorts of job of greatest demand in the foreign labour markets. Questionnaire
was publish in the Russian newspaper “Inostranetz” oriented at migration
problems. 165 questionnaires were returned. The tables below illustrate the
results of this survey.
The attitudes to
particular kinds of work, which migrant women commonly involved in, %
|
|
Normal work
|
Ashamed work
|
Work for those who may do nothing except of
this
|
Socially harmful work, it must be forbidden
|
|
Dancers in restaurants, etc., striptease
actresses
|
35
|
23
|
35
|
4
|
|
"Consummation" (making clients of the bars to spend more
money)
|
17
|
17
|
46
|
16
|
|
Sex-work
|
4
|
35
|
33
|
23
|
|
Models
|
79
|
-
|
14
|
2
|
|
Nurses, care for kids & aged
|
84
|
-
|
14
|
-
|
|
House worker
|
79
|
4
|
14
|
2
|
Only 4 per cent of women consider sex-work as normal. Meanwhile sex-industry and the sphere of “near-sex
services” provide the vast majority of migration opportunities for young women.
Whether it easy for young women from Russia without higher education
to find work abroad, not associated with sex-employment?
|
Very hard, almost impossible
|
12
|
|
Hard but possible if pay much efforts
|
49
|
|
Not very hard
|
21
|
|
Easy for those who want to work
|
18
|
And the awareness of potential migrants about risks associated with migration
is quite high. this is the result of wide information campaign and lots of
materials in mass media dedicated to this topic.
Awareness of potential
migrants about possible human rights violations
associated with
migration, %
|
|
Know well
|
Know some
|
Know nothing
|
|
Passport taken away
|
11
|
84
|
5
|
|
Restriction of movement
|
14
|
64
|
14
|
|
Violation of the labor contract (under-pay, increased duration of
working day, unacceptable working conditions)
|
25
|
66
|
2
|
|
Debt servitude
|
9
|
61
|
20
|
|
Coercion to sex-work
|
5
|
82
|
5
|
|
Physical and psychological violence, threat
|
5
|
66
|
18
|
The information campaigns aimed at
warning young women of “impulsive” migration besides of its positive effect of
rising awareness has also negative impact. Giving Russian “heritage” of
isolation and disintegration from the rest of the world these campaigns result
in quite strong and negative effect of frightening.
3. Migratory
intentions in contemporary Russia
Currently
two processes are going as parallels mutually stimulating and challenging each
other - the development of migration infrastructure (legal basis, institutional
bodies, etc.), on the one hand, and increase of real labour outflow, on the
other hand. These two processes mutually stimulating and challenging each other
also influence upon potential migratory orienrations of population, stimulating
the formation and development of migratory intentions. The latter process in
its turn creates some kind of pressure upon institutional system that assists
migration and mobility of people.
Tables bellow illustrate sample
survey results on potential resources of migration from Russia. Sample size –
465 questionnaires; place of questioning – Moscow;
sample is representative for Moscow active population in terms of age, sex,
occupations. The data characterize the different aspects of migration
intentions of people. Only 1-2% are oriented on long-term or permanent
emigration. And not so many Russian women have positive migratory intentions.
But still some group of women will be looking for the possibility to realize
their intentions. This group most likely makes up to 5 per cent of active
population, including mostly temporary labour migration). And what do they find
to realize their intentions towards migration? They mostly find shadow and
illegal structures which have most attractive advertisement and promise most
attractive conditions of work (see the bottom of the scheme on the page 3).
Very often unoficial structures work more effective than official institutions.
Are you going to migrate
for temporary work abroad within the next 1-2 years?
|
Orientation
|
Men
|
Women
|
|
1.
Yes, I positively intend to leave
Russia within the next 1-2 years
|
5
|
2
|
|
2.
It is very likely that I leave
within the next 1-2 years
|
8
|
6
|
|
3.
Possibly (it is not excluded) I’ll
be doing something to leave
|
27
|
22
|
|
4.
I definitely do not intend to do
anything towards migration within the next 1-2 years
|
60
|
70
|
|
TOTAL
|
100
|
100
|
What would you advice to
your friend who decided to go abroad?
|
Orientation
|
Men
|
Women
|
|
1.
To look for a possibility to stay
abroad permanently
|
6
|
8
|
|
2.
To seek a long-term working
engagement abroad (from one to several years)
|
32
|
20
|
|
3.
To seek a short-term working
engagement abroad (for several months-up to one year)
|
28
|
42
|
|
4.
Not to go abroad at all, try to
achieve success being in Russia
|
34
|
30
|
|
TOTAL
|
100
|
100
|
Which statement would you
agree with?
|
Orientation
|
Men
|
Women
|
|
1.
Life in Russia is too hard, it is
needed to run away from here urgently
|
5
|
3
|
|
2.
Not permanent emigration but
temporary work abroad could be helpful in contemporary situation
|
65
|
67
|
|
3.
Russia is our motherland, every
honest person should live and work only in Russia
|
30
|
30
|
|
TOTAL
|
100
|
100
|
Types of respondents by
their attitude to migration
|
Type
|
Description
|
Proportion
|
|
|
|
Male
|
Female
|
|
“Radical”
|
Positive intention
to migrate in the nearest future
|
6
|
4
|
|
“Active”
|
Actively positive
orientation towards migration
|
20
|
16
|
|
“Neutral”
|
From passively
positive up to neutral orientation towards migration
|
22
|
30
|
|
“Negative”
|
Migration excluded
|
52
|
50
|
The
proportion of respondents radically oriented on migration makes up about
5 per cent with some odds in favour of wen. Vast majority of them is currently
making efforts towards migration. But only 2 per cent of respondents have the
highest ranks by all scales.
Active type makes up about 15-20 per
cent also with some odds in favour of men. Their attitude to migration was
generally expressed by words: "I am currently thinking about it".
Some part of them considers it's very possible that they start active efforts
towards migration in the nearest future.
Neutral type is more popular among
women. Although activity towards migration is not included in the current plans
of these respondents, it is not fully excluded. Most precise reaction of
respondents' may be described by words: " Maybe it is worth thinking
about".
Negative type is the biggest (about a
half of the sample). It assumes the strict negative answers on all scales and
consequently minimal ranks. These are people who strictly exclude the possibility
of migration.
The
vast majority of potential migrants orient themselves at short-term (up to 1
year) labour migration.
Desirable time of migration, %
|
Term
|
%
|
|
Up to 3 months
|
11
|
|
3-6 months
|
9
|
|
6 months – up to1 year
|
33
|
|
1 – 3 years
|
9
|
|
More than 3 years
|
25
|
|
No answer
|
13
|
|
TOTAL
|
100
|
If migratory orientations can not be
realized through official ways they tend to be accumulated and “moving” to
unofficial sphere and again the process is shaping into illegal framework. That
is exactly what is going on nowadays in Russia.
Alternative to this now can be only development of legal institutes and legal
opportunities of labour migration. It is necessary to turn to legal
perspective at least some part of the process, which today is pushed to the
sphere of unofficial, illegal and
criminal relations. Only then labour migration from the underground can change
to normal economic relations.
If it is not done, migration
potential existing in a society, will continue to be realized through illegal
channels.
ã2001, Elena Tiuriukanova.
