There seems to be no job at home for many Ukrainian businessmen and workers. The state employment service's listing includes 856,200 unemployed as of August 1, which is 44.7% more than a year earlier. According to unofficial information, three million people in Ukraine are totally or partly unemployed. They say one can make money in Russia, so people go there. Fortunately it is no problem to go there today. However, there is a problem with coming back.
Usually our Gastarbeiters find no trouble traveling from the far north to Moscow. When the plane lands in the airport is where all problems start. Toughs with ready fists are waiting for Ukrainians right in the terminal. They timely receive the information on the travelers and demand a “transit” bribe.
Law enforcement officers often take part. Checking the passports and travelers' documents, they find out the train and car numbers. The rest is a question of the enforcers’ abilities and techniques. Ukrainians can relax only after they cross the border. Keep in mind that you have to declare any sum over $500.
Ukrainian workers coming to Russia are mainly employed in extracting coal and oil, construction, agriculture, and transport. According to Russian information, Ukraine supplies 90%-95% of seasonal workers for these branches. Our fellow Ukrainians significantly assist in the northern regions of Siberia and Central Black Earth Region. Naturally, it is young and healthy people between 25 and 45 years old who travel to Russia in quest of cash.
Small firms often do the draft work. Before turning to them, it essential to learn if they are legal, licensed, and competent. Agreements with the corresponding companies in Russia are also worth checking on.
The income Ukrainian workers may count on vary from 1000-1500 Russian rubles ($160-$230) in central Russia to 3000 rubles ($470) in the far north. The pay differs depending on the sector of industry. The wages of river and construction workers get in Moscow that in Belgorod oblast, for example. Construction workers on contract receive up to $500. As a rule, wages of Ukrainian Gastarbeiters do not depend on education level, because most of them do not work in their trade.
Ukrainians should be very careful at taking a job. Government and stock companies usually pay money regularly. Trouble in accounts arises in seasonal firms. There are documented cases when employers vanished with the money the day the work is completed. The labor is often paid at minimum wage, although it is rather easy to find a job and make some money in distant areas from Moscow. The labor pay in a number of sectors is considerably higher in Russia than in Ukraine.
Today the migration process between the neighboring countries has attained a more or less civilized character. Ukraine and Russia have signed an agreement stipulating the mutual solution to questions connected with employment and social security. Ukrainian and Russian citizens who temporary move for employment have equal rights.
Nevertheless, in no country of the world does a seasonal worker have equal rights with residents. It is not worth arguing with managers, no trade union will defend him. He will not get paid for sick days. He cannot strike. He is told: “You have come to make a ‘long’ ruble, so take it to the limit.” Those who do not want to take it to the limit try to slander everything in their contract, but they are rarely hired.






