Companies attracting foreign workers must respect rights of Kazakhstanis - Nurymbetov
Kazakhstan’s enterprises and companies that attract foreign labor must comply with the labor and migration laws of the country and not violate the rights of our citizens. This statement was made by Minister of Labor and Social Protection of Kazakhstan Birzhan Nurymbetov at a meeting with the labor collective of the oil and gas processing plant Bolashak-Atyrau LLP, which took place as part of the working visit of Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, Berdibek Saparbayev, to Atyrau region.
Talking with the management and employees of the enterprise, the Minister emphasized that employers attracting foreign workers must not allow violation of labor legislation and must ensure equal conditions for remuneration of labor of foreign and local workers.
“In order to protect the domestic labor market, a quota to attract foreign specialists to the republic is established annually. The quota for 2019 was approved in the amount of 48.7 thousand units (0.54% of the workforce). As of September 1, 2019, local executive authorities issued and extended 18 thousand 533 permits for attracting foreign labor. 2425 companies attract foreigners, where 531 thousand Kazakhstani citizens work or 96% of the total number of employees. The Ministry, together with the General Prosecutor's Office, initiated inspections of the country's enterprises, attracting more than 50 foreign workers. On October 8 this year inspections of 49 enterprises were completed, 791 facts of violations of labor and migration laws were revealed, including disproportions in wages and bonus payments of 476 facts at 24 enterprises. So, in Atyrau region, in Neftestroyservis LTD LLP, a local tariff is set at an hourly rate of 568 tenge, and for a foreign employee in a similar position is 6,500 tenge. This practice is unacceptable! Employers must ensure equal working conditions and pay for it to citizens of Kazakhstan and foreign workers”, Birzhan Nurymbetov said.
According to the Committee on Labor, Social Protection and Migration, since the beginning of the year, 364 employers have attracted more than 9 thousand foreign citizens in Atyrau region, of which 63 (0.7%) in the first category (managers and their deputies), and second (managers structural units) - 1 475 (16.5%), for the third (specialists) - 5 332 (59%), for the fourth (skilled workers) - 1 146 (13%), seasonal workers - 910 (10.11%), transferred as part of an internal corporate transfer - 78 (1%).
Bolashak-Atyrau LLP has involved 833 foreign workers from January 1 to September 1 this year, of which in the first category – 2 people, in the second - 221, in the third - 610.
“Also, during inspections, 183 facts of foreign workers performing work in a specialty that does not correspond to the issued permit or the concluded labor contract were revealed. Based on the results of the work, 447 permits were revoked. According to the revealed facts of violations, employers were issued 50 orders and 83 administrative fines were imposed in the amount of more than 33.7 million tenge”, Birzhan Nurymbetov added, emphasizing that the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection will keep under review the issues of attracting foreign workers.
