The first participants of the organized employment program from Uzbekistan in Belarus complained about the quality of living conditions and the level of wages. Workers from the Andzhan region, who arrived in the Vitebsk region, published a video appeal asking for help to return to Uzbekistan.
As part of a pilot project, 255 residents from the Andzhan region were recently sent to Belarus. Before leaving, they were promised official employment, stable pay, decent living conditions, and social guarantees. However, after arriving, some workers stated that the actual conditions do not match these promises.
In videos posted on social networks, they showed the dormitory where they live, noting that its condition was worse than expected. According to the workers, their monthly earnings are about 500 US dollars, while they have to cover food and daily living expenses themselves. After deducting mandatory expenses, they are left with approximately 200 US dollars, which makes further work in Belarus economically unviable.
In their video appeal, the workers addressed the governor of the Andzhan region, Shukhrat Abdurakhmanov, asking for help to return to Uzbekistan. The Migration Agency informed journalists that this situation is under review. Representatives of the agency and officials from the Andzhan regional administration present in Belarus are studying the relationship between employers and migrant workers.
The agency clarified that the workers were sent by the Andzhan regional administration as part of a pilot project. It also stated that if an employer fails to meet the terms of the employment contract, including salary payments, the workers will be offered a job with another employer. The agency expects the problem to be resolved by the end of the day.
Furthermore, the Migration Agency mentioned that Uzbek investors are opening farms in Belarus, where employment opportunities for Uzbek citizens are being considered. According to signed contracts, the average monthly salary at these enterprises should be between 900 and 1000 US dollars, with a maximum of 1200 US dollars. It was previously reported that around 5000 Uzbek citizens are planned to be sent to Belarus under the organized employment program.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko announced plans to accept an additional 5 thousand workers from the Andijan region of Uzbekistan. The dispatch of groups of 500 people to the Vitebsk region is scheduled for September.
Lukashenko emphasized that there is sufficient acceptable housing in the villages, and all future buildings will be constructed for the needs of the population, both Belarusian and Uzbek. He noted that those arriving must understand that they are part of society, provided they work.
The recruited Uzbeks will not only be employed in agriculture. They will also be offered employment opportunities in industrial and construction facilities, in the service sector, and as junior medical personnel. The authorities of the Vitebsk region are obliged to provide the arriving workers with housing and necessary conditions.
Parallel to attracting labor, the parties are strengthening interaction in the agricultural sector. Uzbek partners have been promised ten premises for housing cattle and eight thousand hectares of agricultural land. An additional two thousand hectares in the Beshenovichi district are designated for potato cultivation. The Belarusian side is ready to provide technologies, planting material, qualified specialists, and necessary infrastructure for crop storage.
The implementation of a project to create a wood processing enterprise with the participation of Uzbek investments for the production of fuel pellets is also being discussed. Furthermore, the formation of a construction trust involving Uzbek specialists is planned. In Vitebsk, the development of a trade house for Uzbek goods, the opening of a national cuisine restaurant, and the creation of a tourist base for Uzbek citizens' recreation are foreseen.
It was previously reported that the first organized group, consisting of 255 residents of the Andijan region, arrived. These people went to Belarus for temporary work in the fields of animal husbandry and agriculture. Participants in this program were guaranteed official employment, wages, and proper living conditions.
The first organized group of labor migrants from the Andijan region arrived in Belarus for temporary employment in the agricultural and livestock sectors. This group included 255 residents from the region.
This program is implemented based on a trilateral agreement between the Hokimiyat of the Andijan region, the Uzbekistan Agency for External Labor Migration, and the Committee for Labor, Employment and Social Protection of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee of Belarus.
According to the Migration Agency, a simplified employment procedure was developed for project participants, which allows for expedited processing of necessary documents and organized departure for work.
Uzbek citizens were met at Vitebsk airport by local authorities and an official delegation from Uzbekistan led by the Hokim of the Andijan region, Shukhratbek Abdurakhmanov.
The Agency guarantees all program participants official employment, a decent salary, and necessary living conditions.
It is expected that the implementation of this project will expand employment opportunities for Uzbek citizens abroad and will also contribute to the development of interaction between Uzbekistan and Belarus in the field of organized labor migration.
The legal basis for such projects was created during the state visit of the President of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, to Belarus, when the parties signed an agreement on attracting Uzbek citizens for temporary work in Belarus.
At that time, the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, noting the shortage of labor in the country, invited Uzbek citizens to come and work, including their family members.
